Have you checked out the Empower program for
ISVs? It's a pretty good deal. You get MSDN universal and
lots of testing licences for a reasonable cost. Thing is though,
its more reasonable in some countries than it is in others. I was
annoyed to see that the price varies wildly depending where you
are.
Example:
USA € 312
Ireland € 320
Australia € 551
Now, I'm not saying that companies shouldn't be
allowed to charge what they want for their products. Its up to
consumers to decide if it represents value for money. And 300 odd
Euro for all this software is a good deal. But guess where I'm
buying mine? Yep, Australia. What's with the 60% price hike
for Aussies?
I asked Microsoft. They duly replied and said that pricing is :
Country specific.
Reflects GST for Australia.
Relates to customer base in Australia, which may be smaller than other countries.Based on cost to provide subscription to Australian subscribers.
Well I thought, that would make sense
except that firstly, sales tax in Ireland is 21%, In
Australia its 10% and secondly, there are more people in Sydney
alone than there are in the whole of Ireland.
Doesn't add up does it?