Hi Jorke (and list),
Any further news on these changes? Regards, Trevor Andrew From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jorke Odolphi Sent: Thursday, 15 April 2010 10:06 AM To: ozDotNet Subject: RE: Empower Program being terminated / new Microsoft Action Pack Development and Design - thoughts? Hi Trevor, I've asked this question of the partner team and will post back to the list once we have a clear picture of what is happening. Cheers Jorke Jorke Odolphi <http://blogs.technet.com/jorke> | Web Platform Evangelist | http://blogs.technet.com/jorke Microsoft Australia <http://www.microsoft.com/australia> | e: [email protected] | im: [email protected]| twitter.com/jorke +61 2 8817 9126 | +61 488717714 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Trevor Andrew Sent: Wednesday, 14 April 2010 8:48 PM To: 'ozDotNet' Subject: Empower Program being terminated / new Microsoft Action Pack Development and Design - thoughts? Hi All, Just wondering whether anyone can shed some light on the upcoming changes to the Empower program? From reading on the Partner web site, Empower is being replaced with a new edition of the Action Pack called the "Microsoft Action Pack Development And Design" on May 24th. I was looking at the most effective way of getting VS2010 and associated tools, and was reviewing again the requirements for Empower (agree to develop a product etc, etc). I was surprised to see the program was being phased out, and you wouldn't be able to enrol after May 21st. I spoke briefly with someone on the Partner help line, and they knew of this new edition of the Action Pack, but had no details of price, and they believed it couldn't even be ordered before the 24th. I'm interested in understanding why they're pulling Empower - My recollection, although I didn't confirm it today when speaking with the rep was that the program fee for Empower was reasonably small - was it $300 - can someone confirm. I'd also like to get some sort of a feel for how much this new Action Pack edition might cost? I've currently got a "standard" MAPS download only subscription which costs just on $400 annually, and as the "Development and Design" Action Pack pretty much builds on what's in the existing Action Pack, from what I can see ... https://partner.microsoft.com/Australia/program/managemembership/40133000 ... I suspect it's going to be considerably more expensive. Having read some of the end of life restrictions on Empower, such as some things not being available after November 2010 or the end of your year subscription, whichever comes first, I'm not sure it would make sense to join the Empower program now, except for the fact that without concrete information, I suspect it will be a cheaper outlay, albeit with the obligation to market a product, than waiting for this new "Development and Design" Action Pack. Although as Empower is being phased out, I'm assuming others already in the Empower program will already have Access to VS2010? So if anyone has thoughts / opinions / experiences regarding the Empower program, or greater detail on the new "Development and Design" Action Pack, I'd be delighted to hear them. Cheers, Trevor Andrew
