J
Jim Rand
The simple plan was to upgrade from VS 2003 Pro to VS 2005 Pro for $500.
Unfortunately, my three-year-old XP Pro SP1 laptop did not take kindly to
SP2 required for .NET 2.0. Ironically, .NET 2.0 still supports Windows 98 -
go figure.
The new plan, just initiated, has escalated to a mere $3,001.36 which covers
the new computer plus VS 2005 Pro with the MSDN Pro subscription that
includes an operating system (Windows Server 2003) that does support .NET
2.0.
In all fairness, Windows Server 2003 was on the purchase list for 2006 but
not right after Christmas and just before the 4/15 tax day.
The purpose of this post is for two reasons:
1) I'm really ticked off for being forced by Microsoft to spend the extra
$2,500 to stay current. Now that I've said it, I feel better and can move
on emotionally.
2) The real reason - right now, "Smart Client" applications developed with
VS 2005 will not be compatible with a significant number of XP Pro systems.
How do we deal with this issue and, more importantly, why has Microsoft put
us in this position in the first place?
Your thoughts,
Unfortunately, my three-year-old XP Pro SP1 laptop did not take kindly to
SP2 required for .NET 2.0. Ironically, .NET 2.0 still supports Windows 98 -
go figure.
The new plan, just initiated, has escalated to a mere $3,001.36 which covers
the new computer plus VS 2005 Pro with the MSDN Pro subscription that
includes an operating system (Windows Server 2003) that does support .NET
2.0.
In all fairness, Windows Server 2003 was on the purchase list for 2006 but
not right after Christmas and just before the 4/15 tax day.
The purpose of this post is for two reasons:
1) I'm really ticked off for being forced by Microsoft to spend the extra
$2,500 to stay current. Now that I've said it, I feel better and can move
on emotionally.
2) The real reason - right now, "Smart Client" applications developed with
VS 2005 will not be compatible with a significant number of XP Pro systems.
How do we deal with this issue and, more importantly, why has Microsoft put
us in this position in the first place?
Your thoughts,