Microsoft TechNet
Encyclopedia
Microsoft TechNet is a Microsoft
program and resource for technical information, news, and events for IT
professionals. Along with a website, they also produce a monthly subscription magazine titled "TechNet Magazine".
TechNet was originally available only to customers with paid subscriptions; however, it has been expanded to include public information, webcasts, local events, and free newsletters. They have also started an open source
blog
on April 6, 2006 called Port 25 to publicly explore that business model and provide discussion forums
. http://port25.technet.com/aboutPort25.aspx
As of July 18, 2006, the Sysinternals
tools were merged into TechNet.
which contains technical information for software developers, the TechNet Library is a source of technical information for IT professionals and advanced users. The technical content is freely available on the web and on CDs and DVDs. The discs are published monthly and contain the complete Microsoft Knowledge Base, service pack
s, security update
s, resource kits, technical training, operations and deployment
guides, white paper
s, case studies
, all the downloads on the Microsoft.com Download Center, and such other information.
used by the community to discuss a wide variety of IT professional topics. TechNet Forums were migrated to an all-new platform during 2008 that provided new features designed to improve efficiency such as inline preview of threads, AJAX
filtering, and a slide-up post editor.
s of only Microsoft
employees.
The concept and the platform are still in beta.
on TechNet Social was first launched in 2008, built on a new web platform that has user-tagging
and feeds at its core. The goal of the social bookmarking application is to provide a method whereby members of the IT professional community can:
The initial release of the application provides standard features for the genre, including a bookmarklet
and import capabilities. The TechNet web site is also starting to incorporate feeds of social bookmarks from experts and the community, displayed alongside feeds from relevant bloggers.
There are restrictions on the use of the software obtained from TechNet Subscriptions. The software may not be used for commercial purposes and may be used only by a single person (it may not be shared).
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
program and resource for technical information, news, and events for IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
professionals. Along with a website, they also produce a monthly subscription magazine titled "TechNet Magazine".
TechNet was originally available only to customers with paid subscriptions; however, it has been expanded to include public information, webcasts, local events, and free newsletters. They have also started an open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
on April 6, 2006 called Port 25 to publicly explore that business model and provide discussion forums
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
. http://port25.technet.com/aboutPort25.aspx
As of July 18, 2006, the Sysinternals
Sysinternals
Windows Sysinternals is a part of the Microsoft TechNet website which offers technical resources and utilities to manage, diagnose, troubleshoot, and monitor a Microsoft Windows environment. Originally, the Sysinternals website was created in 1996 and was operated by the company Winternals...
tools were merged into TechNet.
Websites
TechNet's primary web presence at technet.microsoft.com is a collection of sites for the IT professional community that provide information, documentation, and discussion which is authored both by Microsoft and by the community at large. Recent emphasis on and incorporation of applications such as forums, blogs, library annotations, and social bookmarking is changing the nature of the TechNet site from a one-way information service to an open dialog between Microsoft and the IT professional community. The main website, and most of its constituent applications below are available in 12 or more languages.Library
Similar to the MSDN LibraryMSDN Library
MSDN Library is a library of official technical documentation content intended for developers developing for Microsoft Windows. MSDN stands for the Microsoft Developer Network. The MSDN Library documents the APIs that ship with Microsoft products and also includes sample code, technical articles,...
which contains technical information for software developers, the TechNet Library is a source of technical information for IT professionals and advanced users. The technical content is freely available on the web and on CDs and DVDs. The discs are published monthly and contain the complete Microsoft Knowledge Base, service pack
Service pack
A service pack is a collection of updates, fixes or enhancements to a software program delivered in the form of a single installable package. Many companies, such as Microsoft or Autodesk, typically release a service pack when the number of individual patches to a given program reaches a certain ...
s, security update
Hotfix
A hotfix was originally the term applied to software patches that were applied to live i.e. still running systems. Similar use of the terms can be seen in hot swappable disk drives...
s, resource kits, technical training, operations and deployment
Software deployment
Software deployment is all of the activities that make a software system available for use.The general deployment process consists of several interrelated activities with possible transitions between them. These activities can occur at the producer site or at the consumer site or both...
guides, white paper
White paper
A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields. In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to...
s, case studies
Case study
A case study is an intensive analysis of an individual unit stressing developmental factors in relation to context. The case study is common in social sciences and life sciences. Case studies may be descriptive or explanatory. The latter type is used to explore causation in order to find...
, all the downloads on the Microsoft.com Download Center, and such other information.
Forums
TechNet Forums are the web-based forumsInternet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
used by the community to discuss a wide variety of IT professional topics. TechNet Forums were migrated to an all-new platform during 2008 that provided new features designed to improve efficiency such as inline preview of threads, AJAX
Ajax
- Mythology :* Ajax , son of Telamon, ruler of Salamis and a hero in the Trojan War, also known as "Ajax the Great"* Ajax the Lesser, son of Oileus, ruler of Locris and the leader of the Locrian contingent during the Trojan War.- People :...
filtering, and a slide-up post editor.
Blogs
TechNet has their own blogging platform, which hosts the blogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s of only Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
employees.
Wiki
The TechNet Wiki Beta http://technet.com/wiki is a technical resource for the community. Anyone who joins the community can contribute new topics, edit and enhance existing topics, provide comments and friend other registered users. The goals of the Wiki include providing broader and more in-depth solutions content (how-to, procedural, troubleshooting, deployment) from a wider variety of authors with less publishing friction than traditional mechanisms.The concept and the platform are still in beta.
Social bookmarking
Social bookmarkingSocial bookmarking
Social bookmarking is a method for Internet users to organize, store, manage and search for bookmarks of resources online. Unlike file sharing, the resources themselves aren't shared, merely bookmarks that reference them....
on TechNet Social was first launched in 2008, built on a new web platform that has user-tagging
Tag (metadata)
In online computer systems terminology, a tag is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information . This kind of metadata helps describe an item and allows it to be found again by browsing or searching...
and feeds at its core. The goal of the social bookmarking application is to provide a method whereby members of the IT professional community can:
- Contribute to a database of quality links on any topic from across the web. By filtering on one or more tags, (e.g. "Exchange" and "security") users can discover popular or recent links and subscribe to a feed of those links.
- Find and follow experts' recommended sites. Each profile page includes a feed of the user's contributions. Users can be discovered through a drop-down menu on each bookmark.
- Demonstrate their expertise through the links displayed in their profile.
- Store their favorite links online.
The initial release of the application provides standard features for the genre, including a bookmarklet
Bookmarklet
A bookmarklet is Unobtrusive JavaScript stored as the URL of a bookmark in a web browser or as a hyperlink on a web page. The term is a portmanteau of the terms bookmark and applet, however, an applet is not to be confused with a bookmarklet just as JavaScript is not to be confused with Java...
and import capabilities. The TechNet web site is also starting to incorporate feeds of social bookmarks from experts and the community, displayed alongside feeds from relevant bloggers.
Subscriptions and downloads
TechNet also provides a number of downloads of Microsoft software. Many are free, but a large number aren't. These are provided to those with TechNet Subscriptions. The subscriptions provide access to much of Microsoft's software, complete with product keys that do not expire after a certain time. The subscriptions are sold on an annual basis. There are two levels of subscriptions, Standard and Professional. The Standard subscription provides access to most of the software except specific enterprise-orientated software, and includes 1 collection of Microsoft E-learning. The Professional subscription is more expensive, provides access to all the software, and includes 2 free professional support calls and 2 collections of Microsoft E-learning.There are restrictions on the use of the software obtained from TechNet Subscriptions. The software may not be used for commercial purposes and may be used only by a single person (it may not be shared).