Microsoft TechNet

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TechNet

Sceenshot of main page
Web address technet.microsoft.com
Type of site Knowledge base
Owner Microsoft

Microsoft TechNet is a Microsoft program and resource for technical information, news, and events for IT professionals. Along with a website, they also produce a monthly subscription magazine titled "TechNet Magazine".

TechNet was originally available only to customers with paid subscriptions; however, it has been expanded to include public information, webcasts, local events, and free newsletters. They have also started an open source blog on April 6, 2006 called Port 25 to publicly explore that business model and provide discussion forums.[1]

On July 1, 2013, it was announced on the TechNet website that Microsoft is discontinuing the TechNet subscription service, with the purchase and renewal of subscriptions to be closed by August 31, 2013, in favor of free services such as the TechNet Evaluation Center.[2]

Websites

TechNet's primary web presence at technet.microsoft.com is a collection of sites for IT professionals that provide information, documentation, and discussion which are authored both by Microsoft and by the community at large. Recent emphasis on and incorporation of applications such as forums, blogs, library annotations, and social bookmarking is changing the nature of the TechNet site from a one-way information service to an open dialog between Microsoft and the IT professional community.[3] The main website, and most of its constituent applications below are available in 12 or more languages.

Library

Similar to the MSDN Library which contains technical information for software developers, the TechNet Library is a source of technical information for IT professionals and advanced users. The technical content is freely available on the web and on CDs and DVDs. The discs are published monthly and contain the complete Microsoft Knowledge Base, service packs, security updates, resource kits, technical training, operations and deployment guides, white papers, and case studies.

As of 2014 Microsoft Security Bulletins and Advisories will also be merged into the TechNet Library. [4]

Forums

TechNet Forums are the web-based forums used by the community to discuss a wide variety of IT professional topics. TechNet Forums were migrated to an all-new platform during 2008 that provided new features designed to improve efficiency such as inline preview of threads, AJAX filtering, and a slide-up post editor.

Blogs

TechNet has their own blogging platform, which hosts the blogs of Microsoft employees only.

Wiki

The TechNet Wiki is a technical resource inspired by Wikipedia. Wiki is a is a community site and does not offer official documentation from Microsoft. [5] Anyone who joins the community can contribute new topics, edit and enhance existing topics, provide comments and friend other registered users. The goals [6] of the wiki include providing broader and more in-depth solutions content (how-to, procedural, troubleshooting, deployment) from a wider variety of authors with less publishing friction than traditional mechanisms.

Other

TechNet has individual sections covering specific topics:

  • TechnNet Evaluation Center
  • Microsoft Tech Companion App
  • Microsoft Script Center
  • Server & Tools Blogs
  • TechNet Video

Social bookmarking

Social bookmarking on TechNet Social was first launched in 2008, built on a new web platform that has user-tagging and feeds at its core.[7] The goal of the social bookmarking application is to provide a method whereby members of the IT professional community can:

  • Contribute to a database of quality links on any topic from across the web. By filtering on one or more tags, (e.g. "Exchange" and "security") users can discover popular or recent links and subscribe to a feed of those links.
  • Find and follow experts' recommended sites. Each profile page includes a feed of the user's contributions. Users can be discovered through a drop-down menu on each bookmark.
  • Demonstrate their expertise through the links displayed in their profile.
  • Store their favorite links online.

The initial release of the application provides standard features for the genre, including a bookmarklet and import capabilities. The TechNet web site is also starting to incorporate feeds of social bookmarks from experts and the community, displayed alongside feeds from relevant bloggers.[8]

Subscriptions and downloads

TechNet also provides a number of downloads of Microsoft software.[9] Many are free, but a large number are not, including those provided as part of the paid TechNet Subscriptions. The subscriptions provide access to much of Microsoft's software. Product keys, however, expire after the duration of the subscriptions and require renewal for continued usage.[10] The subscriptions are sold on an annual basis.[11] There are two levels of subscriptions, Standard and Professional. The Standard subscription provides access to most of the software except specific enterprise-oriented software, and includes one collection of Microsoft E-learning. The Professional subscription is more expensive, provides access to all the software, and includes two free professional support calls and two collections of Microsoft E-learning.[12]

There are restrictions on the use of the software obtained from TechNet Subscriptions. The software may not be used for commercial purposes and may be used only by a single person (it may not be shared) and should not be used after the subscription is over.[12]

On July 1, 2013, Microsoft announced the retirement of the TechNet Subscriptions service to focus on growing its free offerings, including evaluation resources through the TechNet Evaluation Center, expert-led learning through the Microsoft Virtual Academy, and community-moderated technical support through the TechNet Forums to better meet the needs of the growing IT professional community. The last day to purchase a TechNet Subscription through the www.technet.microsoft.com/subscriptions site is August 31, 2013. Subscribers may activate purchased subscriptions through September 30, 2013.

Microsoft will continue to honor all existing TechNet Subscriptions. Subscribers with active accounts may continue to access to their benefits until their current subscription period concludes. More information is available in the TechNet Subscriptions FAQ.[13]

TechNet Magazine

Founded in 2005, TechNet Magazine is a discontinued monthly print magazine that provides IT professionals working with Microsoft technologies information about planning, operating, and optimizing their systems. TechNet Magazine has a print circulation of 100,000 readers in the US.

References

  1. ↑ "Port25 - Site Home - TechNet Blogs". Port25.technet.com. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 
  2. ↑ Bott, Ed. "Microsoft to shut down TechNet subscription service." ZDNet. Retrieved 2013-07-25
  3. ↑ John Martin. "Microsoft is Planning Much More Than Just Social Bookmarking". technet.com. Retrieved 2008-10-19. 
  4. ↑ http://windowsitpro.com/msrc/microsoft-security-bulletins-and-advisories-merging-technet-library
  5. ↑ http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/695.wiki-about-technet-wiki.aspx
  6. ↑ Eric Battalio. "Wiki: About". Retrieved 2010-04-21. 
  7. ↑ Havenstein, Heather (August 22, 2008). "Microsoft details plans for new social bookmarking tool". Computerworld. 
  8. ↑ "New Social Bookmarking Feeds in MSDN Dev Centers". Blogs.technet.com. 2008-05-30. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 
  9. ↑ "Downloads". Technet.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 
  10. ↑ "Technet Subscriptions". Technet.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2012-08-27. 
  11. ↑ "TechNet Subscriptions: TechNet subscribers get TechNet downloads and product keys, support, and more | Subscribe to TechNet Subscriptions". Technet.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "TechNet: Compare Subscriptions". Technet.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 
  13. ↑ http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/subscriptions/ms772428

External links

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