Academic Care Blog (Gautam's Blog)

Dreamspark US with simplified Student Enrollment Verification

Gautam — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:58:16 GMT

DreamSpark V2 for US has launched yesterday, June 15. It simplifies the enrollment verification system for higher-Ed students in US. The existing verification methods continue to work - a) Shibboleth-based verification by Universities (for Universities...(read more)

Which one to get - MSDN or TechNet?

Gautam — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:16:18 GMT

I was just asked the question - which one to get MSDN or TechNet subscription? Both MSDN and TechNet subscriptions include Microsoft software that is licensed per user. MSDN Premium...(read more)

DreamSpark: How to get Verified for the Microsoft Dreamspark software in US?

Gautam — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:36:00 GMT

All Students at all accredited higher education institutions in US are eligible for DreamSpark at https://www.dreamspark.com . There is no specific work necessary on the school's part to 'enroll'. Given that there is No single method of verifying a student...(read more)

How to get XNA Creator’s Club Academic Memberships from MSDNAA

Gautam — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:43:00 GMT

XNA Game studio 3.0 is now part of MSDNAA and is also available in ELMS for students, faculty and lab machines. With just the XNA Game Studio 3.0youcan create games for Windows or Zune. XNA Creator’s Club membership is however needed to create games for...(read more)

How to Download and Install DreamSpark Software

Gautam — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:30:00 GMT

Microsoft software from DreamSpark comes packaged in large, single files with .ISO or .IMG extensions. These files are “images” (exact copies) of the CD or DVD media on which the software would be shipped. (The name ISO refers to the standardized file...(read more)

Students' must-have products from MSDNAA

Gautam — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 01:51:13 GMT

Students in US Colleges and Universities have downloaded the following professional software and tools for learning and research from the ~5000 MSDN AA memberships . These top products cover over 80% of the demand from Science, Technology, Engineering,...(read more)

Gaming Conference Cruise for $650

Gautam — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:23:46 GMT

Are you interested in learning about Gaming technologies? Sign-up for a game development conference aboard the Disney Wonder Cruise ship, departing from Port Canaveral, Florida from April 26-30, 2009. get additional details about the conference at http://www.foundationsofdigitalgames.org/...(read more)

What MSDN AA products are distributed in ELMS

Gautam — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:55:28 GMT

The following is the set of products available for download from the ELMS system (as of Dec 1, 2008). To keep the list manageable, I am not listing the localized language editions. .NET Framework SDK 1.1 Access 2007 Compute Cluster Pack Compute Cluster...(read more)

Products included in MSDN Academic Alliance

Gautam — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:01:00 GMT

The following is the list of products included in MSDNAA (as of Dec 1, 2008) for US customers. To keep the list manageable, I have not listed the localized language products or the Beta releases that are availble in MSDN AA.

.NET Academic Resource Kit
.NET Compact Framework 2.0 Redistributable
.NET Component Update CD
.NET Framework 1.1 SDK
.NET Framework 1.1 SP1
.NET Framework 1.1 SP1 for Windows Server 2003
.NET Framework 2.0 Redistributable Package (IA64)
.NET Framework 2.0 Redistributable Package (X64)
.NET Framework 2.0 Redistributable Package (x86)
.NET Framework 2.0 SDK (x64)
.NET Framework Redistributable 1.0
.NET Framework SDK
.NET Framework SDK 1.1
.NET Framework SP 2
.NET Framework SP3
Academic Resource Kit .NET CD1 Teaching Resources
Academic Resource Kit .NET CD2 Technology Resources
Access 2003
Access 2003 Developer Extensions
Access 2007
Amberpoint Express for Visual Studio 2005 Beta
Application Center 2000 Developer Edition
Application Center 2000 Developer Edition SP 2
Application Compatibility Toolkit 4.1
BizTalk Accelerator for HIPAA Enterprise Edition 3.3
BizTalk Accelerator for HIPAA Standard Edition 3.3
BizTalk Accelerator for HL7 1.0
BizTalk Accelerator for HL7 Enterprise Edition 1.3
BizTalk Accelerator for HL7 Standard Edition 1.3
BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet Enterprise Edition 3.3
BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet Standard Edition 3.3
BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT 2.1 Enterprise Edition
BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT 2.1 Standard Edition
BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT Enterprise Edition 2.3
BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT Standard Edition 2.3
BizTalk Server 2002 Developer Edition
BizTalk Server 2004
BizTalk Server 2004 Developer Edition
BizTalk Server 2004 Enterprise Edition
BizTalk Server 2004 Partner Edition
BizTalk Server 2004 SP1
BizTalk Server 2004 Standard Edition
BizTalk Server 2006 Developer Edition
BizTalk Server 2006 Enterprise Edition
BizTalk Server 2006 R2 Developer Edition (x86 and x64) - DVD
Cabinet SDK
Commerce Server 2002 Developer Edition
Commerce Server 2002 Feature Pack 1
Commerce Server 2002 SP 2
Commerce Server 2002 SP3
Commerce Server 2007 Developer Edition
Compute Cluster Pack
Compute Cluster Pack SDK
Connectix Virtual PC for Windows 5.2
Content Management Server 2001
Content Management Server 2002
Content Management Server 2002 Developer Edition
Content Management Server 2002 Service Pack 1a
Content Management Server 2002 SP2
CRC 3.05
Customer Care Framework 2005
Customer Care Framework 2008 (v3.0) - CD
Data Access Components 2.8
Data Analyzer
Data Analyzer 2002
Desktop Optimization Pack 2007
DirectX 9.0 Software Development Kit
DirectX 9.0c SDK (October 2005)
eMbedded Visual C++ 4.0 with Service Pack 2
eMbedded Visual C++ Upgrade Wizard for Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2
Enterprise Instrumentation Framework
Exchange 12 Community Technology Preview
Exchange 2000 Server SP3
Exchange Server 2000 Enterprise Edition
Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition
Exchange Server 2007 Enterprise Edition
Exchange Server 2007 Standard Edition
Expression Blend
Expression Blend 2
Expression Design 2
Expression Encoder 2
Expression Media 2
Expression Studio
Expression Studio 2
Expression Web
Expression Web 2
Forefront Client Security (x86 and x64) - CD
Forefront Security for Exchange Server with Service Pack 1 (x64) - CD
Forefront Security for SharePoint with Service Pack 1 (x64) - CD
Forefront Server Security Management Console (x86) - DVD
Glossaries- SDKs and Tools
Host Integration Server 2000
Host Integration Server 2000 SP 1
Host Integration Server 2006
Identity Integration Server 2003
Identity Integration Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
Identity Integration Server 2003 Enterprise Edition SP1
ILMerge v 1.1
ILMerge v 2.0
InfoPath 2003
InfoPath 2003 Toolkit for Visual Studio Tools for Office 2005
InfoPath 2007
InstallShield Express 5.0 FoxPro Limited Edition
Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1
Internet Information Services Diagnostics Toolkit (IA64)
Internet Information Services Diagnostics Toolkit (x86)
Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2000
Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2004
ISA Server 2004 Enterprise Edition
ISA Server 2004 Enterprise Edition SDK
ISA Server 2004 SDK
ISA Server 2004 Service Pack 2
ISA Server 2004 Standard Edition
ISA Server 2006 Enterprise Edition
ISA Server 2006 Standard Edition Beta 1
IT Academy Course: Database Developer
IT Academy Course: Web Developer
IT Academy Course: Windows Client
IT Academy Course: Windows Developer
IT Academy Course: Windows Server
Live Communications Server 2003
Macro Assembler 6.11
MapPoint 2004 European - Setup Disc (1/2) and Run Disc (2/2)
MapPoint 2004 North America - Setup Disc (1/2) and Run Disc (2/2)
MapPoint 2006 Standard Edition (North American Maps) - Disc 1 and 2
Mappoint SDK
MDAC 2.8
MELL - Developer Edition for MSDNAA
Mobile Information 2002 Server Development Edition
Mobile Internet ToolKit
MSDN Library - April 2007 (DVD)
MSDN Library - December 2006 - (DVD)
MSDN Library - January 2005 - CD1, CD2, CD3
MSDN Library - January 2005 (Full)
MSDN Library - January 2006 - CD1
MSDN Library - July 2003 (Disc 1, 2, 3)
MSDN Library - May 2006 - CD1, CD2, CD3
MSDN Library - October 2003 (Disc 1, 2, 3)
MSDN Library - October 2004 (Disc 1, 2, 3)
MSDN Library (Visual Studio .NET) CD1 ISO (Apr 2004)
MSDN Library (Visual Studio .NET) CD1 ISO (Jan 2004)
MSDN Library (Visual Studio .NET) CD1 ISO (Jul 2004)
MSDN Library (Visual Studio .NET) CD1 ISO (Oct 2004)
MSDN Library (Visual Studio .NET) CD2 ISO (Apr 2004)
MSDN Library (Visual Studio .NET) CD2 ISO (Jan 2004)
MSDN Library (Visual Studio .NET) CD2 ISO (Jul 2004)
MSDN Library (Visual Studio .NET) CD2 ISO (Oct 2004)
MSDN Library (Visual Studio .NET) CD3 ISO (Apr 2004)
MSDN Library (Visual Studio .NET) CD3 ISO (Jan 2004)
MSDN Library (Visual Studio .NET) CD3 ISO (Jul 2004)
MSDN Library (Visual Studio .NET) CD3 ISO (Oct 2004)
MSDN Library (Visual Studio .NET) Full (Apr 2004)
MSDN Library (Visual Studio .NET) Full (Jan 2004)
MSDN Library (Visual Studio .NET) Full (Jul 2004)
MSDN Library for Visual Studio .NET 2003- Disc 1, 2, 3
MSDN Library for Visual Studio 2005 - CD1, CD2, CD3
MSDN Library for Visual Studio 2008 (x86 and x64 WoW) - DVD
MSDN Subscriptions Library (Disc 1, 2, 3)
MSDN Subscriptions Library (Full)
MS-DOS 6.0
MS-DOS 6.22
MSXML 4.0 SP2
Office Accounting Professional 2007
Office Accounting Professional 2008
Office Business Contact Manager 2003
Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005
Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005 with SP1
Office Communications Server 2007 Enterprise Edition
Office FrontPage 2003
Office Groove 2007
Office Groove Server 2007
Office Live Communications Server 2005
Office Live Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition
Office Live Communications Server 2005 Standard Edition
Office Project Portfolio Server 2007
Office Project Server 2007
Office SharePoint Server 2007 Enterprise
Office SharePoint Server 2007 Standard
OneNote 2003
OneNote 2007
Operations Manager 2000
Operations Manager 2005
Operations Manager 2005 Workgroup Edition
Platform SDK (February 2003)
Project 2002 Professional (Volume License Ed.)
Project 2003 SP1
Project Professional 2002 (Single-User)
Project Professional 2003
Project Professional 2003 (Vol License Ed.)
Project Professional 2007
Project Server 2002 (Vol. License Ed.)
Project Server 2003
Project Standard 2002
Project Standard 2003
Remote Debugger for Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1
Services for Netware 5.0 SP 2
Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP
SharePoint Designer 2007
SharePoint Portal Server 2001
SharePoint Portal Server 2003
SharePoint Portal Server 2003 SP2
SharePoint Products and Technologies 2003 SDK
SharePoint Services with SP1
Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition
Soap Toolkit 2.0
Soap Toolkit 3.0
Software Update Services Server with SP1
Speech Application SDK 1.0
Speech SDK 5.0
Speech Server 2004 Enterprise Edition
Speech Server 2004 Standard Edition
SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services SP 3
SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine SP 3
SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition
SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition
SQL Server 2000 Notification Services 2.0
SQL Server 2000 Personal Edition
SQL Server 2000 Resource Kit
SQL Server 2000 SP 3
SQL Server 2000 SP3a
SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition
SQL Server 2000 Web Services Toolkit
SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition - 32-bit - CD1, CD2
SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition - 64-bit Extended - CD1, CD2
SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition - 64-bit Itanium - CD1, CD2
SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition - DVD
SQL Server 2005 Express Edition
SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition - 32-bit - CD1, CD2
SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition - 32-bit - DVD
SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition - 64-bit Extended - CD1, CD2
SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition - 64-bit Extended - DVD
SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition - 64-bit Itanium - DVD
SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor - January 2006
SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition - 32-bit - CD1, CD2
SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition - 32-bit - DVD
SQL Server 2008 Enterprise (x86 and x64) - DVD
SQL Server for Windows CE
SQL Server for Windows CE 2.0
SQL Server Migration Assistant - Oracle V2.0
System Center Capacity Planner 2006
System Center Capacity Planner 2006 with Service Pack 1
System Center Configuration Manager 2007 - DVD
System Center Data Protection Manager 2007 - DVD (Multilanguage)
System Center Essentials 2007 - DVD
System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 (x64) - CD
System Center Operations Manager 2007
System Center Reporting Manager 2006
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007 (x86/x64) - DVD
Systems Management Server 2.0
Systems Management Server 2003
Systems Management Server 2003 (International Clients Pack 2)
Systems Management Server 2003 Administration Feature Pack
Systems Management Server 2003 R2
Systems Management Server 2003 SDK
Systems Management Server 2003 with SP1
Tablet PC Platform SDK Version 1.0
VBA SDK Version 6.4
Virtual PC 2004
Virtual PC 2004 with SP1
Virtual PC 2007
Virtual PC 2007 64bit
Virtual PC for Mac 6.1
Virtual PC for Mac 7.0.1
Virtual PC for Mac 7.0.2
Virtual Server 2005 Standard Edition R2 - x64 (English)
Virtual Server 2005 Standard Edition R2 - x86
Visio 2003 SP1
Visio 2003 SP2
Visio 2003 SP2 for MUI Pack
Visio for Enterprise Architects
Visio Professional 2002 (Single User)
Visio Professional 2002 (Volume Lic Ed.)
Visio Professional 2002 SR-1
Visio Professional 2003
Visio Professional 2003 (Vol License Ed.)
Visio Professional 2003 MUI Disc 1, 2, 3, 4
Visio Professional 2007
Visio Standard 2003
Visio Tools for Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1
Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition
Visual Basic 6.0 Code Advisor
Visual Basic 6.0 Enterprise Edition - Disc 1
Visual Basic for Applications Software Development Kit Version 6.4
Visual C# 2005 Express Edition
Visual C++ 1.52
Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition
Visual C++ Tools for Itanium-based Systems
Visual FoxPro "Sedna" CTP - March 2006
Visual FoxPro 8.0
Visual FoxPro 9.0
Visual J# .NET
Visual J# 2005 Express Edition
Visual J++
Visual SourceSafe 6.0d
Visual Studio .NET 2003 Professional - Full Install
Visual Studio .NET 2005 Professional - Full Install
Visual Studio .NET Academic Faculty Tools
Visual Studio .NET Academic Student Tools
Visual Studio .NET Academic Student Tools 2003
Visual Studio .NET Academic Teaching Tools 2003
Visual Studio .NET Pro 2002 - ISO Image - CD1, CD2, CD3, CD4, CD5
Visual Studio .NET Professional 2002 (Full)
Visual Studio .NET Professional 2003 - CD1, CD2
Visual Studio .NET Professional 2003 CD1 ISO, CD2 ISO
Visual Studio .NET Professional 2003 Prerequisites Disc
Visual Studio .NET Professional 2003 Prerequisites ISO
Visual Studio 2005 Enterprise Architect Beta 1 - CD1, CD2
Visual Studio 2005 Extensions for Windows Workflow Foundation Beta 1.2
Visual Studio 2005 Extensions for Windows Workflow Foundation Beta 2
Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition CD1, CD2
Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition CD1, CD2
Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server Trial Edition
Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite - CD1, CD2, CD3
Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite - DVD
Visual Studio 2005 Team Test Load Agent Beta 2
Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the Microsoft Office System
Visual Studio 2008 Express Edition with SP1
Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition (x86 and x64 WoW) - DVD
Visual Studio 2008 SP1
Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation Server Workgroup Edition (x86 and x64 WoW) - DVD
Visual Studio 6 Pro - Disc 1, Dics 2
Visual Studio 6 Pro (Full Download)
Visual Studio 6 SP6
Visual Studio Extensions - December 2005 CTP
Visual Studio Extensions - January 2006 CTP
Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server SP1
Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Suite (x86 and x64 WoW) - DVD
Visual Studio Tools for Office 2003
Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System 2003
Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition
Volume Shadow Copy Service SDK v7.1
Volume Shadow Copy Service SDK v7.2
Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Windows 2000 Advanced Server (with SP4)
Windows 2000 Developer"s Readiness Kit
Windows 2000 Professional
Windows 2000 Professional (with SP4)
Windows 2000 Professional Resource Kit
Windows 2000 Server
Windows 2000 Server (with SP4)
Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit
Windows 2000 SP 4
Windows 2000 SP4 Customer Support Diagnostic Tools
Windows 98 Second Edition
Windows CE .NET 4.2 Disc 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Windows CE .NET 5.0 Disc 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Windows Embedded CE 6.0 DVD
Windows Hardware Compatibility Test Kit 12.0
Windows Hardware Compatibility Test Kit Version 11.0
Windows Interix 2.2
Windows Media Player 7
Windows Mobile 2003 Platform SDK
Windows Mobile 2003-based Smartphones SDK
Windows Mobile 5.0 Developer Resource Kit
Windows NT Server 4.0
Windows NT Workstation 4.0
Windows Real-Time Communications Client API SDK 1.3
Windows Rights Management Client 1.0
Windows Rights Management Client SDK
Windows Rights Management Client Software Development Kit
Windows Rights Management Services 1.0
Windows Rights Management Services SDK
Windows Server 2003 Customer Support and Diagnostics
Windows Server 2003 DDK
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (Vol. License Ed.)
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition - 64 Bit
Windows Server 2003 Multilingual User Interface Pack- Disc 1, 2, 3, 4
Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition - Disc 1, 2
Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition with SP2 - Disc 1, 2
Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition - Disc 1, 2
Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition with SP2 - Disc 1, 2
Windows Server 2003 R2 Multilingual User Interface Pack Disc1
Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition - Disc 1, 2
Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard x64 Edition - Disc 1, 2
Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition Multilingual User Interface Pack Disc 1, 2
Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools
Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition
Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition - VL
Windows Server 2003 Standard x64 Edition
Windows Server 2003 System Resource Manager
Windows Server 2003 Web Edition
Windows Server 2003 Web Edition - VL
Windows Server 2008 Enterprise and Standard - DVD
Windows Server 2008 Enterprise and Standard 64bit - DVD
Windows Services for UNIX 3.0
Windows Services for UNIX 3.5
Windows SharePoint Services 2.0
Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 with SP1
Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 with SP1 (x64)
Windows Software Development Kit - December 2005 CTP1
Windows Vista Beta 2 (x64) DVD
Windows Vista Business (Vol. License Ed.)
Windows Vista Business 64bit DVD
Windows Vista Business 64bit DVD with SP1
Windows Vista Business CD1, CD2, CD3, CD4, CD5
Windows Vista Business DVD
Windows Vista Business DVD with SP1
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (32bit- 64bit) - DVD
Windows Web Server 2008 - DVD
Windows Web Server 2008 64Bit - DVD
Windows XP DDK
Windows XP Embedded
Windows XP Embedded SP2
Windows XP Embedded with SP1 - CD1
Windows XP Embedded with SP1 - CD2
Windows XP Multilingual User Interface Pack CD 1, CD2, CD3, CD4, CD5
Windows XP Multilingual User Interface Pack- Disc 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Windows XP Professional (Single User)
Windows XP Professional (Single User) 64bit Edition
Windows XP Professional (Single User) ISO Image
Windows XP Professional (Vol. License Ed.)
Windows XP Professional with SP1a (Single User) ISO Image
Windows XP Professional with SP2 (Single User) ISO Image
Windows XP Professional with SP3 (Single User) ISO Image
Windows XP Service Pack 1a
Windows XP SP1 DDK
Windows XP SP2
Windows XP SP2 Customer Support Diagnostics Tools
Windows XP SP2 Platform SDK
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005- Disc 1, 2
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition- Disc 1, 2
XNA Creators Club Online Academic Subscription
~~XNA Game Studio 3.0~~ is NOT in MSDNAA yet and can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=7D70D6ED-1EDD-4852-9883-9A33C0AD8FEE&displaylang=en

Technorati Tags: MSDN,MSDNAA8,product list

How can Students get access to MSDN AA software

Gautam — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:18:00 GMT

Any eligible STEM-D (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Business and Design) student is eligible to get all the software and tools in the MSDN Academic Alliance program from their department - any STEM-D department in which you are currently taking any class.

Here are 3 options for you to get MSDN AA software:

Find out if your school is currently a member of the MSDN Academic Alliance Program at http://www.msdnaa.net/search/SchoolSearchUS.aspx (be entering the state and city of your school)

if your department (any department in which you are currently taking any class) is listed, just contact your faculty or IT department to get you signed-up to download the MSDN AA software onto your PC. ALL students enrolled in any course in the STEM-D department are eligible to get ALL of the MSDN AA software onto their personal PCs.

Once your department's MSDN AA Program Admin sets up your account, just 'Get Software Link' to login and download the software you need.

If your department (any department in which you are currently taking any class) is NOT listed, approach the department IT admin or faculty and have then sign-up for MSDN AA at http://msdnaa.net

Search for any Student Club registered with MSDNAA (or STEM-D department) in your city at http://www.msdnaa.net/search/SchoolSearchUS.aspx.

Approach the Student club, provide proof of your enrollment in a STEM-D class and request a login-into their MSDN AA software distribution mechanism.
If you have a student club that is not a member of the MSDN AA program, have them sign-up for MSDN AA at http://msdnaa .net

Are you a member of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) or the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) or National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).

Approach your local ACM, NSBE or IEEE- Computer Society chapter and ask them about obtaining a login id to get access to all of the MSDN AA software from:

ACM MSDN AA ELMS membership at http://msdn01.e-academy.com/ACM
IEEE-Computer Society MSDNAA ELMS membership at http://msdn04.e-academy.com/ieee_cs_r9
NSBE MSDN AA ELMS membership at http://msdn01.e-academy.com/nsbe_it

If your STEM-D department or student club is not a member of MSDNAA, do ask them to sign-up at http://msdnaa.net.

Technorati Tags: MSDN,MSDNAA7,Academic Alliance,ELMS

What are the benefits included in MSDN AA? How does MSDN AA cost?

Gautam — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:07:20 GMT

MSDN AA includes thousands of dollars worth of software, tools and IT Academy Student Pass Training material, that you can provide all eligible students in the member STEM-D department, for installation on their personal machines and on your lab machines.

In addition to the free ELMS software distribution mechanism (http://www.e-academy.com/MSDNAA_RequestForm_main.cfm), the following benefits are included in your MSDN AA membership:

unlimited MSDN AA support at msdnaa@microsoft.com or Phone: 866-643-9421
unlimited ELMS support at msdnaa_softwarecenter@e-academy.com or phone: 1-888-396-1447
4 technical product support incidents (phone: 800-936-5800) as listed at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/bb266240.aspx (needs program admin sign-in)
MSDN managed newsgroup for free technical support on popular Microsoft technologies as described at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/aa974230.aspx

The Cost for MSDN -Developer Academic Alliance, in the US is:

Membership Level	New Subscription	Renewal Pricing
MSDN AA/Developer AA (Download) - 1 Year	$499	$320
MSDN AA/Developer AA (DVD) - 1 Year	$799	$399
MSDN AA/Developer AA (Download) - 3 Year	$1,025	$799
MSDN AA/Developer AA (DVD) - 3 Year	$1,437	$1,079

Additional details at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/bb250623.aspx for MSDN-Developer Academic Alliance.

The Cost for MSDN AA/Designer Academic Alliance, in the US is:

Membership Level	New Subscription	Renewal Pricing
Designer AA (Download) - 1 Year	$399	$299
Designer AA (Download) - 3 Year	$847	$762

Additional details at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/bb250623.aspx for MSDN-Designer Academic Alliance.

Technorati Tags: MSDN,MSDNAA6,ELMS,EAcademy,Value,benefits,cost

How to sign-up for MSDN AA - a step-by-step guide

Gautam — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:46:00 GMT

MSDN AA is an important program where Microsoft works with universities to put Microsoft software in the hands of students registered in a science, technology, math, and/or engineering program. MSDN AA is a paid membership program for college and university departments that enables them to issue software to their students. In addition, any student club is also eligible to sign-up for the MSDN AA program.

Here is a 20-step guide for any eligible STEM-D department or student club to sign-up for the MSDN AA program at http://msdnaa.net.

website: Go to http://msdnaa.net or http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/default.aspx
register: Select "Register for Developer Academic Alliance".

For STEM departments (99% of eligible departments) the Developer Academic Alliance (Developer AA) membership is the right option and covers all the software in MSDNAA.
For VIDA (Visualization, Illustration, Design and Art) departments, Designer Academic Alliance (Designer AA) membership could be the right option. This membership offers a subset of MSDN AA software, while Developer AA is a super set of all MDNAA software.
High School select the High School Academic Alliance.
Compare the software offerings in these 3 memberships at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/bb676724.aspx. For most institutions the Developer Academic Alliance (Developer AA) membership is the way to go.

EULA: In another browser window, read the license agreement (EULA) for MSDN AA at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/bb250608.aspx.

Because the MSDNAA EULA is a supplemental license to MSDN License, also read the MSDN License agreement at http://download.microsoft.com/documents/useterms/MSDN%20Subscription_Premium%20Edition_English_36b85cb5-cdc0-43d8-90c1-fa168f15ee6d.pdf

Wizard: Select 'Country = United States' and click on Register (or Renew if you already have a membership).
School info: Provide the Institution (name, type) and Department (name, student size) information and click Continue
Discount code: Provide any promo code or Campus/School agreement number to get discounts on the cost of MSDN AA membership and select Continue.
membership type: Select the 3 year MSDN Developer AA membership for $1025 (or 1 year membership for $499) and select the online download (as media type). Click on 'Proceed to Checkout'. Applicable sales tax is added.
Contact info: On the next screen,

Provide the contact email for the MSDNAA Program Admin at your school
Provide your Tax ID and mail tax exempt certificate to MSDN AA tax exemption department or Fax (661) 775-6475
provide the Billing address and Shipping Address (of the MSDN AA program Administrator)
Review the privacy policy statement at https://oms.one.microsoft.com/tc/privacypolicy.asp?Locale=en-us
Click on Continue

Review you membership and Customer information.

Choose your payment type and enter the PO Number, Credit card details or mail your check to the amount shown.
Select 'I agree to the terms and condition'

Confirmation: At this point the MSDN AA Order is created and sent for processing

On the confirmation page, note the 14 digit Order Reference Number (example:01142017827308), and any documentation you need to submit
Print the confirmation page and include a copy with all your communication.
This confirmation page states "to ensure you receive the first shipment of program software and your membership kit". The "first shipment and membership kit" are only mailed out if you selected the DVD media option. Most sign-up do not choose this option and hence do to receive any physical material in the snail mail.

email: A confirmation email is sent from msdnaa@microsoft.com, to the contact email entered in step 8 (with title of "Microsoft Order in Process -- Order Number: 01142017827308") including the 14 digit Order Reference number (example:01142017827308) and another 8 digit Membership Reference Number (example: T89-00369)

This mail states that "You will receive your membership number and access instructions within three business days".
However, this is true only if there is no information or documentation you have to submit.

submit: Please submit all the required documentation (example: Tax exemption Certification, copy of your Purchase order, check) at the earliest opportunity. Include the 14 digit Order Reference number (example:01142017827308) in all your communications.

Once all the required documentation is submitted, your MSDN AA membership will be activated in 3 business days.

Activation: You will receive an email from msdnaa@microsoft.com (sent to the contact email entered in step 8), confirming the activation of your MSDN AA account. This will be 3 business days after all your documentation and payment have been received.

Your 9 digit Membership ID Number (example: 900591288) is included.
Instructions on accessing your online membership are included

Step 1 : Go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions OR go to http://msdnaa.net, scroll to the bottom of page and select Subscriber Downloads.
Step 2: On the right hand side, in the "My MSDN Subscription box", click on "Associate your subscription with your Windows LiveT ID". Sign-in with an existing Live ID or create one.
Step 3: Log into the Live ID to associate it with your MSDN AA membership.

Note: Because only one Live ID maybe associated with a MSDN membership, create a Live ID that you can share with persons who may need to administer this MSDN membership in your absence.

Support: At any time during this process, if you need any assistance email msdnaa@microsoft.com or phone (866)643-9421 or fax (661) 775-6475 to reach the MSDN AA support.
ELMS: Sign-up at http://www.e-academy.com/MSDNAA_RequestForm_main.cfm for an ELMS account, providing

your 9 digit MSDNAA membership # (example: 900591288)
Name of your Institution and department name
program Admin name and email

email: You will receive a confirmation email from e-academy.com (ex: rapid_deploy@e-academy.com) providing you

a URL for your MSDN AA Online software system (example: http://msdn70.e-academy.com/demo)
your admin user name: gautamr@microsoft.com
your admin password: **********

Information about ELMS can be obtained at http://www.e-academy.com/IT_MSDNAA_main.cfm

Login: To get started,

Login to your ELMS with your Admin user name and admin password
Click on the ADMINISTRATION button located on the horizontal navigation bar (beside SOFTWARE and SUPPORT).
Review the Hosted ELMS Guide and Admin FAQ for information on

configuration,
product setup,
batch importing student email (identity)
getting support

Configure Product: To make software available on your Cloud Hosted ELMS server

Click on "Hosted ELMS" icon on Right hand side (OR Product Management / Rapid Setup / Configure Hosted ELMS now)
On the "Rapid Setup - Hosted ELMS" page, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on "Enable ALL" button

Add users: To upload student emails (identities)

On the Left Hand Side, click on User Management/ Groups / Add New Group
Create a Group Name such as "2008 Fall CS Students" and set an expiry date for the end of the term: January 31, 2009
Create a plain text file (.txt) with a list of all students taking classes in the CS department for Fall 2008 - one complete email address per line in the text file (gautamr@u.washington.edu) and save as '2008 fall CS Student list.txt'
A best practice is to get the list of ALL students taking any class in your department, from the department office, for upload.
Import this List by clicking on (the Left hand Side) the User Management/ELMS Authentication / Import List.

Import the test file created previously: 'Desktop\2008 fall CS Student list.txt'
Select the Group: 2008 Fall CS Students

That's it. Each of the students whose email you uploaded in step 20 will receive an email from elms_support@e-academy.com with a link to your online MSDNAA Software system: http://msdn70.e-academy.com/demo, from where they can down the software you enabled in step 19 and also get the product keys. All the program Admin has to do is to wait out the semester and upload a new set of students taking a class in the department.

If you need help configuring your Hosted ELMS delivery solution, please email our support staff at msdnaa_softwarecenter@e-academy.com

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How is the MSDN AA software distributed to students in STEM departments?

Gautam — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 04:20:47 GMT

After the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Math) department sign-ups for a MSDN AA membership, getting the MSDN AA software and tools to your students and faculty involves 3 simple steps:

Selecting the software distribution mechanism: (once per Lifetime)

Once per lifetime of the MSDN AA membership, select from the among the 4 options (detailed below) to choose from.
Recommendation: The 'ELMS with Cloud Hosted Server' is the simplest and easiest to setup and administer.

Identifying the software to distribute (once per lifetime)

Once per lifetime of the MSDN AA membership, select all software listed in the MSDNAA and ELMS system as ALL students registered to take a class in the your department are eligible to receive all the MSDN AA software (whether their class uses any software or not), for their self-learning.
Every semester, add any new software added to MSDNAA , especially the newer releases

Collecting the student identities (emails) to enable the distribution of the Software and license keys (every semester)

Every semester/quarter, collect the student emails of all students registered to take a class in your department and upload these identities to the ELMS system (In the case of the 2 ELMS options) or inform them of software availability (in the case of the other 2 options)

Software and License keys can be distributed by one of the following 4 options:

i. CD/DVD option:

One copy of the physical software media (CD/DVD) is mailed out you (the program Admin)
Make copies (CD/DVD) of the ALL software received for check-out by students and faculty.
The Program Admin downloads the product keys from MSDN Subscriber Downloads for distribution to each student/faculty. Each student/faculty will require a unique product key to activate the software.
The Program Admin collects the student identities (emails) of all registered students that semester and sends them a note providing them instructions on how they can check out the software and obtain the product keys.

ii. Electronic Media option:

Using an online download for the one copy of software by Admin and then making copies (CD/DVD) for check out by students and faculty OR put the software on a secure server for students to download from the server.
The program Admin then downloads the product keys from MSDN Subscriber Downloads for distribution to each student/faculty. Each student/faculty will require a unique product key to activate the software.
The program Admin collects the student identities (emails) of all registered students that semester and sends them a note providing them instructions on how they can check out the software/download software from secure server, and obtain the product keys.

iii. *ELMS with Campus Hosted Server:

Setup a secure Campus Hosted server and download for the one copy of the software onto this Campus Hosted Server
The program Admins selects all the software from the ELMS system that is available for students.
Admin uploads student identities (emails) of all registered students that semester so that the students can log into their accounts to get the product keys themselves.
ELMS system send the students instructions on how to get the product keys by signing into their accounts. Students/faculty with accounts download software from the secure campus Hosted server and the product keys from ELMS.

iv. *ELMS with Cloud Hosted Server: (Recommended)

The program Admins selects all the software from the ELMS system that is available for students.
Admin uploads student identities (emails) of all registered students that semester so that the students can log into their accounts to get the software and product keys from the ELMS Cloud Hosted Server.
ELMS system send the students instructions on how to get the software and product keys by signing into their accounts. Students/faculty with accounts download software from the secure Cloud Hosted server and the product keys from ELMS.

This option involves the least amount of work for the admin as there is no need for media or product key distribution (in option 1 or 2) OR for maintaining a secure server (option 2 or 3). In addition, the option 4 (and option 3) have an automatic tracking of license keys provided to each student identity (email), thus making the accounting easy for the Admins. hence option 4 is highly recommended. Did I mention, all these distribution options are included in the cost of MSDN AA membership so please avail the option that is simplest for your campus.

*ELMS: E-academy License Management System is a web-based software distribution system as described at. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/bb250602.aspx

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Why should MSDN AA software be made available to ALL eligible students (even if their class does not use the software)?

Gautam — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 05:59:00 GMT

Technology skills are important for the student's career development, are increasingly a key ingredient of their life and learning. Employers demand the latest technical skills, irrespective of the student's major in college. thus technology skills can be a huge differentiator but are also a requirement in today's technology-driven world.

Educational institutions can add value to their offerings by making MSDN AA software available to all eligible students. the professional software included in MSDN AA program gives students a view of the real-world tools and practices. MSDN AA software not only enhances the student learning during their school years but it also prepares them for the professional careers by providing them familiarity with the tools and practices used in the commercial world.

Besides the software in MSDN AA, Microsoft is providing other learning resources to help students learn the technical skills with elearning programs, demonstrate their learnings with the Imagine Cup student competition and connecting them to potential employers with the Students2Business program.

Access to FREE e-Learning courses for extending your IT or developer skills at http://www.microsoft.com/education/MSITAcademy/itastudentpass.mspx
Support for any questions that arise during your learning at http://support.microsoft.com/ and/or Microsoft Technical Communities - http://www.microsoft.com/communities
A World-wide competition to test your learning at http://imaginecup.com/ and enhance your resume with additional team-skills
FREE 6-month complimentary access to the E-Reference Libraries from Microsoft Press, at http://imaginecup.com/Competition/LearningResourcesOverview.aspx
Entrepreneurship resources from http://microsoft4me.com/imaginecup/innovation/index.htm and assistance in starting your own company at http://www.microsoftstartupzone.com/ and www.microsoftstartupzone.com/bizspark
Connection to Jobs, internships, and additional career resources that use the skills learned to find a job today! The comprehensive S2B portal provides you with access to jobs, internships, and additional career resources at http://www.microsoft.com/studentstobusiness/

So, even when a software is not used in-class, students can avail the software from MSDN AA and the the learning resources provided by Microsoft and other partners to better position themselves in a competitive job-market. The school/department should make ALL of the MSDN AA software and tools available to ALL eligible students so the students can enhance their learning and be better citizen in a technology-laden world.

Technorati Tags: MSDN,MSDNAA3,Imagine Cup,S2B

Can any student get MSDN AA software?

Gautam — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 02:57:33 GMT

MSDN Academic Alliance (http://msdnaa.net) is an important program where Microsoft works with universities to put Microsoft software in the hands of students registered in a science, technology, math, and/or engineering program, for non-commercial use. It will continue in close cooperation with schools around the world. MSDN AA is a paid membership program for college and university departments that enables them to issue software to their students.

MSDN AA software and tools offering is for distribution and use by students and faculty of STEM-D (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Design) departments for in-class teaching and research use, and by students for out-of-class self-learning.
Any student registered to take a class in a STEM-D department is eligible to get access to ALL of the MSDN AA software and tools (not just the software being used in the class they are taking).
The student does not have to be a major in the STEM-D department; the student must just be registered for taking a class in STEM-D department. Also the class the student is registered for does not need to be using any of the MSDNAA software in the class. Just being registered for a class in STEM-D program is sufficient for the student to get access to ALL of the MSDN AA software -for self-study, out-of-class projects, etc.

For example: at Wayne State University the computer science program runs a service course CSC 1000 - Introduction to Computer Science. This course is only for non-computer science majors and is used by the non-cs Wayne students to satisfy the Computer Literacy Requirement. the course itself teaches introductory computer concepts and desktop office applications. there were 15 sections offered in Fall 2008 - http://www.cs.wayne.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=19&id=65&Itemid=55
In this scenario, all students enrolled in the CSC 1000 are eligible to get ALL software from MSDN AA.

STEM-D Students (and faculty) can install ALL software on their personal machines; in addition all department machines in labs and faculty machines can be installed with MSDN AA software.
Students and faculty can retain all the software on their machines even after students graduate or when faculty stop teaching.
In all cases the MSDN AA software can only be used for non-commercial use, such as teaching, learning, research, in or outside the classroom. The students receiving MSDN AA software are expected to conform to the non-commercial use agreement.
The MSDN AA Licence agreement (EULA) provides the details and is posted at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/bb250608.aspx

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