Visual Studio 2005 Pro, Is this legal?

GeoTrail · Post by **GeoTrail** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:25 pm

I've ben looking at Visual Studio 2005 Pro, it usually costs around $650, I found it at a website for $149. Too good to be true? Is it a legal product?

click here to view the site

Kaeru Gaman · Post by **Kaeru Gaman** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:28 pm

dunno...

I got VS2005 for nothing, won it on that remember-the-code-contest last september....

when I checked it on Amazon, it was 350,-€...

srod · Post by **srod** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:33 pm

Does Costcaptain.com ship outside of the United States?
We do not ship to international addresses at this time.

These are acedemic editions which requires proof that you are either a student or teach at an academic institution etc. I purchased VS.Net 2003 pro this way.

rsts · Post by **rsts** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 12:44 am

Academic versions are 'full' versions but the academic license restricts your use of the product - e.g. you can't use it to develop any commercial applications, etc.

My wife teaches and I got a copy just for the heck of it, but so far haven't gotten much beyond loading it on the computer.

GeoTrail · Post by **GeoTrail** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 1:27 am

I couldn't find any info on the product page about it being a academic license.

Kaeru Gaman · Post by **Kaeru Gaman** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 1:35 am

maybe it's an "inside US" special offer....

...would not be really interesting for you.. would it?

dracflamloc · Post by **dracflamloc** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 1:46 am

If you have a job someplace that has MSDn you can get it all for free =)

netmaestro · Post by **netmaestro** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 1:55 am

There are a few versions of this software available that contain all the bits of a full pro version but are packaged for special purposes and are accompanied by restrictive license terms at a lower cost. Academic licensing is one example, also discs are produced for third-world and developing markets that are intended for specific geographic areas only. You must remember that when you are buying software the commodity you are paying for is the license. If you're getting a $650 title for $150 you are almost guaranteed to receive a license that is probably worth nothing at all as you probably don't qualify for the restrictive terms in the first place, and in the second place you can't use such software to produce programs for profit.

I would contact the seller and ask exactly what the license terms are.

GeoTrail · Post by **GeoTrail** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 2:07 am

Sounds like good advice netmaestro, thanks

rsts · Post by **rsts** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 5:06 am

GeoTrail wrote:I couldn't find any info on the product page about it being a academic license.

It is pretty well hidden. If you click on the FAQ on the item page it takes you to a faq - look in the right hand column - ACADEMIC PRICING - What is it?

cheers

srod · Post by **srod** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:51 am

GeoTrail wrote:I couldn't find any info on the product page about it being a academic license.

http://www.costcaptain.com/Merchant2/me ... ry_Code=vs

PB · Post by PB » Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:59 am

> If you click on the FAQ on the item page it takes you to a faq - look in the
> right hand column - ACADEMIC PRICING - What is it?

That just explains what Academic Pricing is. It doesn't prove the product in
question is the Academic version. If it doesn't explicitly state it, then it isn't.
Of course, you might find it's Academic after purchase, but then you'd be
entitled to a refund due to false advertising.

Bear in mind: my comment above assumes that the site isn't just selling all
Academic versions by its very nature, but I couldn't see anything about it.

srod · Post by **srod** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 10:07 am

They are being a little sneaky, but if you click the link in my above post and check the price - I'd say that Geotrail's original link is definitely to the academic versions. There's no other licensing scheme I know of which would present VS 2005.Net pro at that price.

PB · Post by PB » Mon Mar 19, 2007 10:19 am

I didn't see your link as you posted it while I was composing my message.
But yeah, that seems to be the final, definitive answer. Fair enough, then.

techjunkie · Post by **techjunkie** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 10:25 am

Have you seen this GeoTrail?

"SHIPPING

WE DO NOT SHIP OUTSIDE US AT THIS TIME. IF YOU PURCHASED AND PROVIDED A NON-US SHIPPING ADDRESS, YOUR ORDER WILL BE CANCELLED AND REFUND WILL BE ISSUED IN US DOLLARS AS WE DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO OTHER FOREIGN CURRENCIES."