[dba-Tech] Technet / MSDN / Power Pack

DJK(John) Robinson djkr at msn.com
Sat May 2 05:01:12 CDT 2009


Hi Mark (my son's called Mark too, and he'll arrive any time now for a
visit),

I'm an IT 'ancient'.  About half a century ago I developed the knack of
'cramming' for some test I needed to pass but whose content I had no
interest in, and was happy to lose the memorised stuff from my short-term
memory before it troubled my real gray cells.

I genuinely cannot even remember what the exam was, let alone its content!

To get the Action Pack you first have to sign up for MS's Partner Program,
which itself costs nothing.  Then you have the opportunity to pay a small
annual fee to get the Action Pack, whose licenses expire annually;  you're
supposed to be some kind of developer to qualify, but there's no VS included
in the AP.  To discourage every Tom, Dick and Harry from getting this bounty
of cheap software, they introduced the low (to us) hurdle of having to take
some exam every couple of years.  There's a selection of tests on the PP web
site, most tests having an associated one-hour(?) video to watch.  This
tells you all you need to know, so you watch it diligently, take the test
immediately, pass, and then forget all about it until your next reminder
comes up in two years' time!

I don't personally have the AP,  I took it for my daughter's company, who
do, but were too hard-pressed for time to do what I did.  I'm a director, so
it was all legitimate.

My son's late, but I must go.

Bloop, bloop
John

PS - if you're desperate to know more about the AP exams, but don't want to
sign up for the PP, let me know, and I'll have a look for you.  But it won't
be for a few days, sorry.
J


-----Original Message-----
From: dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Mark Breen
Sent: 01 May 2009 15:41
To: Discussion of Hardware and Software issues
Subject: Re: [dba-Tech] Technet / MSDN / Power Pack


Hello John,

this is how my brain appears to work all the time.

I sometimes wonder whether I am a goldfish.

................
BTW, Who are you and what exam are we talking about ;)



Mark


2009/5/1 DJK(John) Robinson <djkr at msn.com>

> You have to choose and pass an exam for Action Pack too.  But it's not 
> hard. Just watch the video and pass!  I did last year, on a subject I 
> knew nothing
> about beforehand - and can remember nothing about now!  :-)
>
> John
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> [mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Steve 
> Erbach
> Sent: 01 May 2009 00:19
> To: Discussion of Hardware and Software issues
> Subject: Re: [dba-Tech] Technet / MSDN / Power Pack
>
>
> Gustav,
>
> Very valuable info...thank you!  I hope I can pass the tests!
>
> Steve Erbach
> Neenah, WI
>
>
> On Mon, Apr 27, 2009 at 2:37 AM, Gustav Brock <Gustav at cactus.dk> 
> wrote:
> > Hi Jim and Steve
> >
> > No, it not so. The Action Pack, MSAP, is available for professionals 
> > somehow dealing with MS software for a living.
> >
> > This, however, doesn't provide developer tools - which in MS jargon 
> > is Visual Studio and Expression Suite. These are offered as part of 
> > the
> >
> >  Special Edition Web Solutions Toolkit
> >
> > for which you have to pass an "exam" to gain access.
> > Read the old thread about this (some links only operational in IE):
> >
> >
> > http://databaseadvisors.com/pipermail/accessd/2007-October/055800.ht
> > ml
> >
> > To obtain VS 2008 Standard this way will take some time but you can 
> > get started right away with the free Express edition.
> >
> > /gustav
> >
> >
> >>>> accessd at shaw.ca 27-04-2009 02:05 >>>
> > My understanding was that this subscription was only available to 
> > individuals who had successfully completed a series/single exam(s). 
> > This limitation was added as some people were taking the 
> > subscriptions and reselling the products... not particularly smart 
> > as it was so easy to validate through MS updates.
> >
> > I spent a couple of hours, one evening, trying to find the testing 
> > section of the MS site after logging in.  I do not think I am 
> > particularly slow but I could not work my way through the various 
> > web site settings and timing-out pages so I gave up that idea. I 
> > guess that was the labyrinth part of the test.
> >
> > Maybe things have changed and if they have I would not mind 
> > continuing with the subscription.
> >
> > Jim
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> > [mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Steve 
> > Erbach
> > Sent: Sunday, April 26, 2009 9:25 AM
> > To: Discussion of Hardware and Software issues
> > Subject: [dba-Tech] Technet / MSDN / Power Pack
> >
> > Dear Group,
> >
> > Just last night I discovered that Microsoft has a service on its 
> > Technet site that gives you a year's subscription to all Microsoft 
> > software for "evaluation" purposes.  $349 a year allows you to 
> > download everything, including the Windows 7 Release Candidate, 
> > Windows Server 2008, etc.
> >
> > I wondered if any of you lot had a Technet subscription.  I believe 
> > that Rocky has a Power Pack (?) subscription which is different.  
> > Some of you have MSDN subscriptions, too.  What do you think of 
> > them?  Have they been worth it?
> >
> > In '04 I found out from Hindman, I think, about the Microsoft ISV 
> > program.  I was able to get a full Universal MSDN subscription with 
> > 5 licenses for Office, Windows, etc., for $295 a year for two years. 
> > THAT was very, very handy.
> >
> > I was considering setting up a Windows SBS 2008 or Windows Server 
> > 2008 as a Virtual PC on my system since it's got some fairly good 
> > oomph (8 GB RAM, dual core 3 GHz Intel processor, Raid 1 500 GB 
> > array).
> >
> > Any thoughts about Technet?
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Steve Erbach
>
> _______________________________________________
> dba-Tech mailing list
> dba-Tech at databaseadvisors.com 
> http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/dba-tech
> Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> dba-Tech mailing list
> dba-Tech at databaseadvisors.com 
> http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/dba-tech
> Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com
>
_______________________________________________
dba-Tech mailing list
dba-Tech at databaseadvisors.com
http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/dba-tech
Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com





More information about the dba-Tech mailing list