Expression Studio on MSDN today - not for all subscribers !! :-(

Update 1: This story now start to be like a bad joke. Scott Guthrie and Tim Heuer answers sounds like an Abbott and Costello routine, yes you need to be MSDN Premium subscriber, but yes I am, no you aren't, we tell you, you need to be an MSDN Premium subscriber, etc... !! Come on, can we get some "intelligent" answers ?

I heard Microsoft Expression has been released for MSDN Premium subscribers.

So I checked with excitement the download page. What? It's not there?

<rant>

I am an MSDN Premium subscriber, well that what I thought, but apparently maybe I am not part of the elite, with access to the full Team Suite, but the one just under with Team Suite for Software Developers!

If this is true, this is a scandal! I subscribed to MSDN Premium to have access to all Microsoft technologies but apparenty it's not enough.

I remember that my subscription to MSDN Universal gave me at the time an access to almost everything.

Microsoft, if you want me to promote and use your products, you need to review your marketing!

It's true I can get Expression Web and Blend, but what's about Expression Design and Media ?!?

I want to see Expression Studio as part of MSDN Premium at least for the three levels of subscription. I knew by splitting the MSDN subscriptions in different layers, some day it would cause some grief. This is the day my friend it's happening, we are not good (pay) enough for Microsoft products.

</rant>

If someone from MSDN read this can you give shed some lights on this matter?

 

10 Comments

  • I am able to see Expression Web and Expression Blend. Is there also a studio version which includes everything in one application?

  • Brennan, welcome to the club! Yes I have the same but apparently MS has officially released a more comprehensive version Expression Studio which include Expression Design and Media.
    I don't understand the logic behind the release only t the top MSDN subscription? I have MSDN Premium subscription but it seems this is not enough :-(

  • Expression Blend and Web are both available as part of MSDN Premium. If you are logged in as a MSDN Premium user, you should be able to see them now.

    The other products in the Expression Studio suite (Design and Media) are available in the MSDN Team Suite subscription (which is the one above MSDN Premium).

    Hope this helps,

    Scott

  • Scott thanks for the info but my point is still relevant. Expression Studio should be available for more than the top level of MSDN subscription!
    If you want the developers to embrace a new product, MSDN subscribers are the best platform to improve the sales.
    If you look at the compa]ison chart about the different MSDN levels on the MSDN official site, I am identified as an MDSN Premium subscriber, so why can't I have acces to Expression Studio? Why can I have to only the Web and Blend part? This logic is beyond my comprehension.
    Can you justify the differences between MSDN subscribers?

  • Tim no sorry it's not available for me :-(

    I can see only Blend and Designer. On your blog you say it will be availabel to all MSDN Premium suscribers.

    Can you explain what difference you make between Premium and Premium?

  • Wow that is just plain stupid.

  • Microsoft seem to be doing everything they can to push developers to open source products.

    I remember when MSDN Universal gave you everything, now that only Team Suite does this, which is out of the reach of a lot of companies(due to cost). The only way now to get some of the high end source management/project management features is use open source products with VS2005.

    For new developers(students,hobbyists,small business) it is now too expensive to write programs for the Microsoft platform. Microsoft's pricing polices with MSDN are pushing people towards open source and Java. Once these people have been lost they are unlikely to return and the door being opened slowly but surely to Mac's and Linux.

    Due to the attitude of unaffordable development software the mind share is moving towards open source and Java. Hopefully Microsoft wakes up before it is too late.

    If anything Team Suite should be part of the MSDN Premium bundle and pricing. Most Java IDE's , Source Control,Project Management, etc software is free. This is price level Microsoft really needs to compete against.

    Come on Microsoft, help us developers make the Microsoft platform the place to be.

  • This stinks. I have the Developer edition and can't get Expression Design or Media?. You guys really dropped the ball on this one. Not giving these tools to all developers will be a big mistake. I surely will not be using WPF any time soon because of this. The small shops get punished again. I have to do everything relating to an app including designing the graphics and media. Now because I don't need the Team Suite, I can't get the tools I do need. Not cool, not cool at all!

  • The reason that we (developers) subscribe to MSDN IS to have access to Microsoft Products and to embrace the technology!

    As a small business delivering technology to clients, the right MSDN subcribtion for us is MSDN Premium, However with is limitation imposed on us it's a clear message from MS that we are not good enough for these products and that larger IT companies who can pay for higher subscribtions should have the support from MS and a leading edge over us.

    Come on MS, please answer the root question raised here, "why". We have access to just about everything else to support technology growth for your products, why these two products.

    There are still many IT Registered Partners that can not split development, design roles, in my case it's the same person, the idea that these products are not aimed at developers simple does not translate to Partners that would like to be bigger and fully rsourced, but we need to get there first, so why exclude us.

  • I too am a Premium Subscriber having the Developer Edition and the availability of Blend as part of the downloads was most welcome. Without this learning WPF was a major headache.

    Why is design not also available then? As this isn't available outside of Expression Studio it makes for a very expensive purchase. For this price tag the competition is now worth a look! So given the inclusion of Blend why not also design?
    Whilst I can see that in larger organisations the designer and developer roles are distinct this is not the case for many of us. Larger organisations may also be slower to adopt the newer technologies. Surely in the market place the more people that are familiar with a new technology the better.

    Finally I hope this isn't the start of a two tier premium subscription where full products outside of visual studio are also only available to Team System subscribers. This opens up the whole pricing debate again.

Comments have been disabled for this content.