Windows 7 Volume License and Trial Availability
Last month we made Windows 7 available to customers with Software Assurance and to MSDN and TechNet Subscribers. Today I am happy to announce two more ways for businesses to get Windows 7 for their deployment and evaluation.
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3.9.2009 Microsoft issues warning to Volume License customers over Windows Genuine Advantage fail
Phil Liu of Microsoft has reported problems with the Windows Genuine Advantage authentication method for Volume License Key (VLK) customers and a temporary work-around.
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5.10.2006 Microsoft Office 2010 Volume License Product Key (VLK) Requires KMS or MAK for Activation
Volume licensing customers for Microsoft Office 2010 suites and applications who install volume editions of Office client software will require activation, even with a volume license key (VLK).
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26.8.2009 Windows Vista Volume Activation 2.0
Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) isnt the only Microsoft anti-piracy scheme that might raise the hackles of future Vista customers. Volume Activation 2.0 is worrying some Vista testers whove had a chance to dabble with early versions of that technology.
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3.10.2006 About Windows Vista Volume Activation 2.0
Computer professionals come across the word "Software piracy". It is related to copying, installing and making use of the software without legally purchasing the software.
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27.12.2006 Windows Vista Volume Licensing
Retail and original equipment manufacturer licenses of Windows Vista are designed to accompany copies of the operating system that ship especially to home users.
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9.11.2007 Windows Vista SP1 Volume Licensing
Volume Licensing is just one of the modalities to acquire Microsoft software, but perhaps, as customers are concerned, it is also the most appealing because of the cost savings it implies.
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15.7.2008 Windows Vista available on Microsoft Volume Licensing Site!
SA - Software Assurance. No ultimate edition yet!
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15.11.2006 Windows Vista Volume Activation 2.0 Technical Guidance
Technical documentation focusing on planning, deployment and operational guidance.
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6.12.2006 Windows 7 coming to Volume Licensing starting September
Microsoft announced that businesses with Volume Licenses will be able to receive Windows 7 starting September 1.
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14.7.2009 Could Not Find Valid System Volume Error When Installing Windows Server 2008 R2
When installing Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 with or without Hyper-V, Hyper-V Server 2008 or Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, and HPC Server 2008 or HPC Server 2008 R2, the Windows Server installation failed with The computer could not find a valid system volume error message.
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17.8.2009 Vista SP1 Volume Activation 2.0 Resources Available
The introduction of Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista marked the evolution of various aspects of the Windows client with some reverberating all the way to Windows Server 2008 RTM/SP1.
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14.7.2008 New motherboard, new Microsoft Windows license?
Microsoft recently made a change to the licence agreement saying that a new motherboard is equal to a new computer, hence you need to purchase a new Windows licence.
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19.2.2006 Microsoft Is Touching Up Windows Vista's License
Microsoft announced that the Windows Vista end-user license agreement will be modified in order to include terms covering Windows Anytime Upgrade. The new Windows Vista EULA will be
made available tomorrow, and I will provide you with an update on the matter.
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18.3.2007 Microsoft: The Windows OEM License Dies with Its Computer
Licenses for Windows come in various flavors from Retail to Volume, but perhaps the most common of all is provided by original equipment manufacturers together with operating systems preloaded on new computers.
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17.6.2008 Microsoft Didn't License GNU
Microsoft has revealed that its patent deal with Linspire doesn't cover the new version of the GNU General Public License (GPL), the company's latest effort to distance itself from the GPLv3.
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22.7.2007 Microsoft says: We're a hardware company, license us
NOT MANY people know this, but Microsoft is a hardware company, the firm said today, as it introduced a hardware licensing scheme.
Robbie Bach, head of the devices division at Microsoft said: "We've been a leading hardware innovator and supplier to the desktop peripherals industry for over 20 years."
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29.3.2006 The Vista license "loophole" that isnt
Software licensing is often hard to understand. But thats no excuse for so-called Windows experts to deliberately publish sensational stories that turn the facts upside-down.
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5.4.2008 Microsoft Responds To Vista License Concerns
Amid a rising tide of questions surrounding its end-user license for Windows Vista, Microsoft is attempting to quell concerns that a one-time-only transfer provision could put roadblocks in the way of enthusiasts who repeatedly upgrade their PCs.
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30.10.2006 Microsoft to License Office 'Look and Feel' for Free
With Office 2007 radically reorganizing the way users think and work with applications -- hopefully more for the better than for the worse.
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25.11.2006 Vista License and Product Key Terminology Part 1
First part of mini serial of articles about Vista Licensing from
Steve Jobs blog.
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4.6.2007 Vista License and Product Key Terminology Part 2
Second part of mini serial of articles about Vista Licensing from
Steve Jobs blog.
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7.6.2007 Vista License and Product Key Terminology Part 3
Next part of mini serial of articles about Vista Licensing from
Steve Jobs blog - Vista Certificate of Authenticity (COA).
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Vista License and Product Key Terminology Part 4
Next article about Vista Licensing from
Steve Jobs blog - this is about Microsoft Product Activation (MPA).
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16.6.2007 Microsoft Releases FastCGI for IIS Under Go Live License
FastCGI will ship in the upcoming Windows Server 2008 as a built-in IIS component for the first time.
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10.10.2007 Turn a counterfeit copy of WindowsXP into a free Vista license!
Perhaps you have bought a license of WindowsXP Home, Pro or Media Centerd Edition 2005 from your local dealer and afterwards it turned into a counterfeit while trying to validate it through WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage) program.
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29.4.2006 Microsoft Would Lose Patent Rights Under New Linux License Terms
The final draft of GPLv3 states that companies that distribute open-source software cannot at the same time pursue patent claims against users of that software.
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3.6.2007 Cost of Vista Business License Offset by Savings, Says Microsoft
For a great many large businesses, "the move to the next Windows" has been an ongoing, daily affair for at least well over a decade. And up until recently, the reasons why this migration tends to proceed so slowly have been, to Microsoft, a complete mystery.
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15.6.2007 Ashampoo WinOptimizer 5 Free Download With License Serial Key
Ashampoo WinOptimizer 5 is a well-known tweaking and optimizing software for Windows operating system that provides clean, optimize and tune functions to ensure maximum PC performance.
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4.8.2009 Get Free NOD32 License with Valid Username and Password for 90-Days
NOD32 is a popular antivirus software that ranks one of the best and most accurate detection and lowest failure rate.
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19.12.2006Windows 7 Volume License and Trial Availability
Gavriella Schuster: Last month we made Windows 7 available to customers with Software Assurance and to MSDN and TechNet Subscribers. Today I am happy
to announce two more ways for businesses to get Windows 7 for their deployment and evaluation...
winbeta.org -
02.09.2009Microsoft: Volume licensees to get fewer CDs, shorter contracts
Microsoft is making a number of tweaks to its volume-licensing policies and procedures in the name of cutting complexity and reducing environmental
waste.
The changes affect those licensing Microsoft products under Enterprise Agreements, Select licenses and Open License
Agreements and will take affect over the course of the first half of Microsofts fiscal 2008 (which kicked off on July 1).
Microsoft is reducing the quantity of CDs it ships to its volume licensees by shipping to them only the most widely used software on discs. The
rest of its software will go out over electronic download from the
Microsoft
volume-licensing services Web site. The new policy will create less waste, which is good for the environment, according to a statement from a
company spokesman.
Microsoft also has reduced the length of its volume-license contracts between 10 percent and 50 percent,
depending on the program, officials said. The company has removed all signature blocks from its volume-license forms. Instead, licensees will get a
new signature form that requires only a single signature event with the customer.
Microsoft also is making price information
about products easier to find in its contracts by reducing the number of different price points and SKUs in its volume-license programs.
winbeta.org -
06.09.2007Volume Activation 2.0: Another Potential Vista Gotcha?
Windows Genuine Advantage
(WGA) isn't the only
Microsoft anti-piracy scheme
that might raise the hackles
of future Vista customers.
Volume Activation 2.0 is
worrying some Vista testers
who've had a chance to dabble
with early versions of that
technology.
Potential false positives -
Microsoft labeling legitimate
copies of Windows as
"pirated" - akin to those
which have been documented in
WGA by Windows expert Ed Bott
and others, are just one
problem business users are
anticipating with Volume
Activation 2.0. Increased
costs resulting from the
management of Volume
Activation systems is another,
they say.
For those
who've yet to hear about it,
Volume Activation is a new
digital-license activation
technology aimed at
businesses. It's part of the
larger "Software Protection
Platform" that Microsoft is
constructing to combat piracy.
In short, Microsoft is not
going to allow enterprises to
operate on an honor system,
when it comes to proving how
many copies of Windows
they've paid to license. Just
like it does with individual
Windows users, Microsoft is
going to start requiring
companies to authenticate
their new versions of Windows
within 30 days of
installing.
neowin.net -
03.10.2006Microsoft Simplifies Volume Licensing
Save time on customer Volume
Licensing consultations and
speed your sales cycle. Newly
announced Volume Licensing
changes encompass Enterprise,
Select License, and Open
License program-agreement
updates. Enterprise Agreement
and Select License fulfillment
improvements. Price-list
updates. New self-service
online tools, including
Microsoft LicenseWise for
Volume Licensing and the
Microsoft Volume Licensing
Service Center. Find
information to effectively
communicate the changes to
your sales staff and
customers.
We'll soon be changing
how we deliver software to
Enterprise Agreement and
Select License customers with
active media subscriptions:
Beginning in September 2007,
in an effort to reduce
packaging and help protect the
environment, Microsoft will be
shipping only our most widely
used products on CD or DVD.
Updates for all other products
will be available either via
electronic download from the
Microsoft
Volume Licensing Services
website or via a
Microsoft
reseller. Get the facts to
prepare for this change and
answer customer questions.
winbeta.org -
08.08.2007Microsoft Simplifies Its Volume Licensing Programs
Microsoft is trying to simplify its complex volume licensing programs and the customer agreements that fall under them as an unprecedented number of
volume license customers face renewal decisions this fall. As part of that initiative, the Redmond, Wash., software maker has slashed the number of
price points and product SKUs in the different programs, and updated the language and the content flow in each agreement to give consistency across
all volume licensing contracts.
Navigation has also been improved, with a new table of contents and summary titles, and a new signature
form is being introduced for a single signature event with the customer, said Stacie Sloane, Microsoft's director of marketing and communications for
worldwide licensing and pricing. Microsoft has also reduced the length of the agreements under its Enterprise, Select License and Open License
programs by as much as half, depending on the program.
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08.09.2007Full retail and volume license installs of XP SP3 available to MSDN/TechNet Plus subscribers
Chris Keroack: Microsoft is pleased to make available integrated retail and volume license installs of Windows XP SP3, to MSDN and TechNet Plus
subscribers. Integrated retail and volume license installs are available in the following languages: Chinese Simplified, English, French, German,
Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish. Additional languages will be made available soon.
Please see the
MSDN Subscriber Downloads or
TechNet Plus Subscriber Downloads to obtain these
releases. The
main TechNet
resource page for Windows XP SP3 is updated with this information.
We have recently identified a compatibility issue between
Windows XP SP3 and Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS). Microsoft Dynamics RMS customers should not install Windows XP SP3 until a fix
has been fully tested and made available. In addition, Windows XP SP3 will be available on Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center soon.
winbeta.org -
03.05.2008Microsoft's Desktop Optimization Pack Sets Sales Record
The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance has been the fastest selling Version 1 product in the history of Microsoft's volume
license program, with more than 3 million licenses sold over the past nine months.
The product is only available to those
customers who have a Windows Client volume license with Software Assurance, a fact that had not been an obstacle to adoption, said Brad Anderson, the
general manager for the Windows and Enterprise management division, at a press conference at the TechEd IT Forum here Nov. 12.
Anderson's comments came ahead of the conference's opening keynote address by Bob Kelly, corporate vice president of infrastructure server
marketing.
winbeta.org -
13.11.2007Dell Software Promo Rankles Microsoft Partners
Dell is quietly selling
Microsoft Open License
software at cost as part of a
three-week promotion that runs
until the end of July, CMP
Channel has learned.
In an email viewed by CMP
Channel, Dell approaches
customers directly and extends
the offer to products such as
SQL, Exchange, Office 2007,
Windows Vista, Windows Server
Standard, Small Business
Server, Client Access
Licenses, Project, and
SharePoint.
However,
Microsoft isn't aware of any
Dell promotions that offer
Open License software at cost,
according to a company
spokesperson.
Dell
did not return emails and
phone calls seeking comment.
Customers typically
buy licenses for Microsoft
software through a volume
license agreement, which can
be an Open License, Select
Agreement, or Enterprise
Agreement. While partners can
buy Open License agreements
from distributors and sell
them to customers, customers
can only buy Select and
Enterprise Agreements only
directly from Microsoft's
large account resellers
(LARs), one of which is Dell. ..
winbeta.org -
26.07.2007Volume Licensing: It's a Buyer's Market
Microsoft's recent surge in
unearned revenue, mostly from
volume licensing, masks an
important buying trend:
businesses holding off on
server-and even some
desktop-software upgrades. The
situation is an opportunity
for IT organizations to drive
hard bargains for extra
benefits during Microsoft
volume licensing negotiations.
At a cursory glance, Microsoft
would appear to have the
advantages of a seller's
market when negotiating volume
license contracts.
During Microsoft's 2007
second fiscal quarter,
unearned revenue reached
$11.9 billion, up from
$10.1 billion a quarter
earlier, mostly buoyed by
stronger-than-expected license
contract renewals. New Office
and Windows versions
contributed to renewals. In a
report published yesterday,
Goldman Sachs analyst Sarah
Friar broke down the revenue
sources for Microsoft cash
cows Office and Windows.
"About 40 percent of Office
revenues are from fully
packaged product and volume
license agreements, 40 percent
are from annuity contracts,
and 20 percent are from OEM
sales, compared with about 5
percent, 15 percent, and 80
percent for
client
revenues, respectively," she
wrote.
neowin.net - 12.04.2007
Windows 7 Enterprise 90 day trial available
Microsoft has made Windows 7 Enterprise available for free download with an evaluation period of 90 days for IT Professionals responsible for desktop
administration and deployment. This evaluation period download is only available for a limited time while supplies last. The extended evaluation
period will gives businesses a chance to test run the new Windows 7 operating system to determine if it meets company's standards as the next
major upgrade. This evaluation period is for IT Professionals who do not have access to Windows 7 RTM through: Software Assurance Volume License
agreementMSDN and TechNet subscriptionsSoftware Assurance agreement allowing the download of Windows 7 RTM via the Volume Licensing Download Center.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 02.09.2009
The real lowdown on XP license deadlines
With the first end date deadline for the general availability of Windows XP just six months away, June 30, 2008, there are a number of XP licensing
questions that are still on the minds of internal licensing desk managers and enterprise IT departments.
Part of the confusion
comes from the terminology Microsoft uses to describe the end date for license availability, and part comes from the lack of a simple description of
what the terminology actually means.
Following conversations with three different Microsoft Volume Licensing Specialists, most of
InfoWorld's questions have been answered.
There are basically just three types of system licenses available...
winbeta.org - 23.01.2008
Don't slipstream XP SP3 on Windows Vista!
This just in from Bink, seems he had a pretty interesting weekend attempting to Slipstream XP SP3.
"So I build a new Windows XP ISO with
SP3 integrated, this is a Volume License editions (VOL) which only accepts Volume License Keys (VLK). When I want to install it on a clean machine, I
noticed that setup prompts for a product key and it does not allow me to continue, which should be a new feature in XP sp3. OK so I fill in the VLK
but it does not accept it, I try another one from a customer of mine, does not work either. Angry
I found out that the problem is when you
do the XP Sp3 slipstream process on a WIndows Vista machine, the API gives a different response and screws up the PID process. This is a bug and
Microsoft knew about this in December, still the bug remained and made it all the way to RTM, nice work Microsoft.
So XP SP slipstream only
on XP or 2003 machines!!!"
neowin.net - 05.05.2008
Microsoft and PC makers introduce Windows 7 offers for consumers
Microsoft is really turning up the consumer-focused volume on the Windows 7
launch on October 22 despite the fact that the company makes a lot of money from selling Windows to business users, either via volume-license
agreements and/or various other channels.
Why so much attention on retail where Microsoft admittedly garners the least amount of
Windows revenues? Microsoft officials believe if they can win over consumers with Windows 7, these consumers will push their workplaces to move to
Windows 7 more quickly. Theres also, undoubtedly, a large helping of Apple envy/fear thats part of Microsofts consumer push...
winbeta.org - 22.10.2009
Microsoft Launches Office Partner Subsidy Program
Microsoft on Monday announced
a new volume licensing program
for Office that replaces cash
rebates paid directly to
customers with funds for
partner supplied services.
In a a post
on Microsoft's Small Business
Community blog, Eric Ligman,
senior manager for small
business community engagement
at Microsoft, announced that
customers that buy Office
through the Open Value and
Open License programs will
receive a check from Microsoft
to pay partners for
installation, deployment, and
training services.
Open License is a volume
licensing plan aimed at
organizations with less than
250 PCs. Open Value targets
the same segment, and includes
Software Assurance maintenance
and support. ..
winbeta.org - 10.07.2007
Take two: Microsoft says business licensees to get Windows 7 bits on September 1
Last week, it seemed Microsoft was going to make Windows 7 bits available to business customers
with volume licensees right after the product was released to manufacturing in July.
But on July 13, Microsoft officials said
business users with volume license agreements won’t be able to get the Windows 7 bits until September 1. Microsoft isn’t providing further
information as to why customers will have to wait more than a month after RTM to get the final bits.
winbeta.org - 13.07.2009
CIOs to Microsoft: Forget 'get legal' program, cut our license pain instead
Microsoft Corp. may be trying to make it easier for delinquent enterprise customers to 'true up' their volume license contracts. But CIOs that have
tangled with Redmond on licensing issues say this latest program does little to tackle the real issue: the difficulty, short of buying Microsoft's
most expensive class of license, of staying compliant.
Microsoft's new Get Genuine Windows Agreement lets big companies
that are discovered to be intentionally or accidently pirating Windows XP Professional to quickly purchases copies via a reseller.
GGWA is part of a recent wave of anti-piracy and license compliance efforts that Microsoft is targeting at big corporations, its most profitable
segment.
Enterprises have largely been exempt from past anti-piracy efforts, which focused on software crackers and pirates
distributing stolen license keys, resellers trying to save a buck by reusing the same license key with multiple customers, and consumers.
winbeta.org - 09.10.2007
Vista Pushes Volume Licensing
During Microsoft's annual
financial analysts conference
today, the company's chief
operating officer boasted
about increases in Windows
volume licensing.
It's the "best rate
we've seen in many, many
years," Kevin Turner said of
annuity licensing contracts.
He acknowledged that Windows
Vista Enterprise and MDOP
(Microsoft Desktop
Optimization Pack) were major
drivers. Both products can
only be purchased by way of
volume licensing contract. By
contrast, Windows XP
Professional and supporting
tools could be purchased
without a volume licensing
contract.
Turner said that about 42
millions PCs are covered by
volume licensing. Among
midsize businesses and
enterprise, Windows annuity
contract penetration is 19
percent, he said.
"I think it moved a point
of two." Turner said about
Windows volume licensing
increases.
Historically, about 80
percent of Windows client
revenue comes from OEMs.
Microsoft wants to shiftsome
could say forcecustomers to
volume licensing, which would
further smooth out
Microsoft's balance sheet.
winbeta.org - 27.07.2007
Windows 7 Enterprise Edition; Understanding Software Assurance/Volume Licensing
As Brandon just posted about, MSDN and TechNet Plus Subscribers can now download Windows 7.
Starting tomorrow August
7th, our Software Assurance/Volume License customers will be able to download the Windows 7 Enterprise Edition as well.
We are
also planning an Enterprise Edition Evaluation version to be released in the near future. Watch for more details on that here in this blog.
(Evaluation version was mentioned in Brandons previous post here)
winbeta.org - 07.08.2009
Volume License Key Changes,
End to VLK Piracy?
"Corporate Edition" versions
of Windows have been the
blessing of both IT workers
and casual pirates since the
days of Windows 95, when the
operating system first started
asking for a license key on
installation.
Large firms and OEMs who did
not want to go through the
hassle of typing in a CD key
for every install received
Volume License Keys (VLKs)
that could be used on as many
installs as necessary.
Microsoft relied on the honor
system to ensure that
companies did not abuse this
privilege, but it looks as if
with Vista this system may be
ending:
"We
are making changes to the
process to Vista and a new
approach to VLK licensing,"
Mike Sievert, corporate vice
president of Windows client
marketing for Microsoft told
CRN during a recent interview.
"We're training our
enterprise customers and
we'll do some key management
for customers that's more
automated and makes reporting
easier."
Click on read more
to get more info from this
article!
jcxp.net - 28.06.2006
XP SP3 Integrated Images on MSDN & Technet
Microsoft is pleased to make available integrated retail and volume license installs of Windows XP SP3, to MSDN and TechNet Plus subscribers.
Integrated retail and volume license installs are available in the following languages: Chinese Simplified, English, French, German, Italian,
Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish. Additional languages will be made available soon.
Please see the MSDN Subscriber
Downloads or TechNet Plus Subscriber Downloads to obtain these releases. The main TechNet resource page for Windows XP SP3 is updated with this
information.
File Name: en_windows_xp_professional_with_service_pack_3_x86_cd_vl_x14-73974.iso
Date Posted (UTC): 5/2/2008
12:05:18AM
SHA-1: 66ac289ae27724c5ae17139227cbe78c01eefe40
CRC: FFFFFFFF
neowin.net - 03.05.2008
