My startup is considering applying for Microsoft BizSpark. I am unclear as to whether or not the software is still usable after 3 years or after the product goes live (whichever comes first). My worry is that we will develop for 2 years, go to production, and all of a sudden we will not be entitled to use the software as the BizSpark agreement will be over. Thank you
After you exit BizSpark, you'll be required to acquire new licenses for any server software you continue to use from Microsoft, that you acquired previously through the program.
After the 3 years when you graduate from the progam, you get licenses for a substantial amount of software, entirely free.
From their FAQ on graduation:
Keep, at no charge, all the software you downloaded during the three
years you were in the BizSpark program. If you have servers in
production, you will get licenses to continue to use up to 4 Windows
Servers (Standard Edition) and 2 SQL Servers (Standard Edition). The
BizSpark team will review requests for startups who need a different
configuration.
Related
Is there a limit in quantity of FileMaker Pro Standard/Advanced users where connection to a FileMaker Server with Team License is involved?
I mean that if a company choose the FileMaker Server with 5 license for User Connection, I may be the sixth to be connected with my standard FileMaker Pro Advanced with no problem (I work this way at my customer sites) but which is the limit for quantity of user connected, if any, at server side?
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is a use/licensing question for a third-party software product and not a programming question as defined in the help center guidelines.
The licensing that's been implemented for FM in the past few years has been constantly changing and difficult to understand.
Typically FM developers don't just "code" they often do EVERYTHING from sales to business analysis, back end data design, front end interface design, server implementation, testing and commissioning, documentation and end-user training. Getting the licensing right is a big part of that.
So while it's not a programming question, it's definitely a "stuff I need to know about FileMaker" question.
The limit of 5 pertains to the ones connecting using the team license. For regular Pro/Advanced licenses there is no limit, other than the physical limits imposed by the server software/hardware combination. Check the FileMaker Server specification at filemaker.com for those limits.
I have a couple of small offline softwares that I wrote using Itext Sharp. The software uses IText Sharp to manipulate PDFs. I saw that Itext licensing is AGPL and any work based on that should also be AGPL (I should include source code along with the application and user can modify and redistribute)
My question is can I sell these softwares with source codes bundled with them?
The moment you sell software that is licensed under the AGPL in the context of proprietary, closed source software, you are in violation with the AGPL. If you use iText "free of charge", you need to follow the rules of the AGPL as described in this blog post: How do I make sure my software complies with AGPL: How can I use iText for free?
If you make your own source code open source, you can for instance charge for creating a distribution of your open source software (including the source of iText) on a CD or a DVD (but who still uses CDs and DVDs?), but you can't charge for the IP of iText. You also can't distribute the source code only to people who pay. That would be discriminating (and discrimination goes against the core values of open source).
This doesn't mean you can't make any money. The owner of the iText software, iText Group, offers two options that allow you to make money with your software:
You can purchase a commercial license for your use of iText. If your product is an offline product that people install on their own machine, you will have to buy a Desktop OEM license and pay a small fee for every copy you sell. Note that you need to buy an OEM pack of several licenses in advance. You can't buy OEM licenses one at a time. You need to be sure that you will sell sufficient copies.
You submit your products for evaluation to iText Group, and you ask iText Group to sell your product. For every copy of your software that is sold by iText Group, you will receive money. If you don't have any sales people, nor any marketing budget, this option is to be preferred. iText Group has offices in the US, Europe, and Asia. iText is present at events all over the world. This is an ideal way for you as a developer to have your product promoted world-wide. See iText Creates Revenue Sharing Opportunities for Development Community
See also Monetizing open-source projects, which is a slide-deck that explains how open source licenses work, and how you can make money using open source. You will also notice some legal documents that show that the AGPL can be upheld in court (we won a law suit against a developer who knowingly violated the AGPL).
My server is running CentOS 5. The docs tell me that the "end of life" is March 31, 2017. Does this mean that the software will stop functioning on that date, or does it mean that there will no longer be any upgrades available for version 5? If the latter is true, what kind of difficulties could I expect to face, if I decide not to migrate to another server and OS?
In the software industry in general, "End-of-life" largely (but not always) means "End of support period" where "support" can mean different things - but generally it means these things simultaneously:
The developers will not release any new patches or software updates for the product, this includes both feature updates, but more importantly also security updates. If you must run unsupported software then ensure it's suitably firewalled from the public Internet (and untrusted users) if not completely air-gapped.
The developers will not go out of their way to provide personal technical support (e.g. phone support), however they still will generally keep self-service support resources (e.g. web-pages, knowledge-base articles, etc) available (Microsoft still has pages about Windows 2000 around somewhere).
The developers/publishers are not obligated to provide access to this version of the software. Generally this doesn't happen as much with open-source software (as you can download the repo, rewind to an older version and build from source, but for commercial/proprietary software you will probably lose access to the formerly release binaries unless you retain your own copies.
Your concern about software suddenly stopping working after this end-of-life date is unfounded - at least in CentOS' case (as it's open-source software), and even proprietary software generally don't have timebombs in them (excepting time-limited trial versions of software, of course). The only thing to watch out for is software with an activation system, because after the supported-date period ends there is no guarantee the activation system will still work - this also applies to physical dongles too (while they won't immediately stop working, they might eventually fail) - in this case you'll want to contact the developers and negotiate a special build of the software with the activation features removed, or reverse-engineer the DRM to remove it (which may or may not be legal in your jurisdiction).
we are developing an anti-virus, I'm trying to find out how can we tell the operating system -windows XP in this case- that our software is an anti-virus. I want that the OS recognize our software as an anti-virus and the security center list it.
You have to sign an NDA to get the information. Quoth MSDN forums:
To register an antivirus product:
Must be a member of the Microsoft
Virus Initiative.
OR
Must meet the following three
requirements:
Must have a standard NDA with Microsoft.
Must be a member of AVPD or a member of EICAR or must sign and
adhere to a code of ethics relating to
malware research and malware handling.
Must meet independent testing requirements:
a. If you are using your own antimalware engine, you must pass
VB100 and meet at least one of the
following:
ICSA Labs - Pass
West Coast Labs - Pass
AV-Test.de – 90% or higher
AV-Comparitives – 90% or higher
b. If you are packaging an antimalware engine from another
company:
The company who developed the engine must meet the
above requirements.
In order to be able to register an AV product with Windows Security Center, you need a private API from Microsoft or, starting with Windows 10 build 1809 you need to register a Protected Service. In order to do both these things, you need to be member in the MVI.
Just for the record, a few years later now, the requirements have changed a bit.
First of all, this is the new link:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/intelligence/virus-initiative-criteria
The criteria have also changed and they are more complex.
Assuming you have a product build with a 3rd party SDK, here are the requirements to become a member:
Offer an antimalware or antivirus product that is one of the following:
Your organization's own creation.
Developed by using an SDK (engine and other components) from another MVI Partner company and your organization adds a custom UI and/or other functionality.
Have your own malware research team unless you build a product based on an SDK.
3. Be active and have a positive reputation in the antimalware industry.
Activity can include participation in industry conferences or being reviewed in an industry standard report such as AV Comparatives, OPSWAT or Gartner.
Be willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with Microsoft.
Be willing to sign a program license agreement.
6. Be willing to adhere to program requirements for antimalware apps. These requirements define the behavior of antimalware apps necessary to ensure proper interaction with Windows.
7. Submit your app to Microsoft for periodic performance testing.
8. Certified through independent testing by at least one industry standard organization.
The most hard to achieve requirements are marked bold.
If you want more details what these things require, check here.
Best,
Sorin
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http://blogs.msdn.com/somasegar/archive/2009/06/19/microsoft-bizspark-serving-15-000-startups-and-counting.aspx
Any recommendations on this topic ?
I heard about this a while back and thought that the "Network Partner" requirement was a little weird. Now, you don't have to do that. You can make your request directly to Microsoft without a network partner.
I think the network partner idea is good but it's poorly implemented. They do nothing to help introduce startups to partners that are willing to help.
I went ahead and signed up for the service a few weeks ago. You basically get a full MSDN subscription for free. That means you can get legitimate versions of Visual Studio, Expression, even operating systems for free.
I find it very helpful to have access to various Windows operating systems so I can test my software (I run a software startup, not a web startup) on various platforms.
After 3 years you just pay $100.
I would say, yes, it's worth it.
I know several people enrolled in this program. As long as you meet the requirements it seems like a good deal.
1. The startup must be less than three years old,
2. The startup company's revenue must be less than $1 million,
3. If the startup goes public, you are out of the program.
You do have to pay a $100 program fee but that is not due until you exit the program.
My personal experience and comment on this for startups is that microsoft are incredibly unhelpful, terminally slow in responding and answering emails and applications, there is no way to speak to a real person... no phone numbers, no address, no contact names... They specify simple criteria on the web site, but when you apply they say you are not eligible... and don't give a reason, if you then push and say why? the response you get is obvious that they have not even looked at your website let alone your business and what you are trying to do. So, as a result, I feel that they are offering the service for purely for good PR, but are actually in no way actually wanting to help startups, I have been 6 weeks emailing every few days, they have an auto responded which says they will answer in 2 business days and its been 6 weeks.... So I am getting nowhere... I don't think microsoft really want to help startups at all . Very disappointed and annoyed with them. I can't see how this approach to interacting with startups will work for them? My recommendation would be to pick somebody else and avoid Microsoft.
So I just went through the process of signing up and I have to say that if you are start-up building in the .Net stack then BizSpark is a no brainer. I especially love the free Azure credit and the exemption that you can use the benefit for production purposes whereas normal MSDN users can only use it for dev/testing purposes. This shows that Microsoft gets it and at this stage of the game it really helps our little initiative.
Throw into the mix Visual Studio online that allows up to 5 devs free and suddenly its really amazing to build something using MS tech if you are a small start-up.
Regarding the slowness, I initially had the same problem after signing up with my support emails being ignored and all that. After a few weeks on a whim I sent a hail mary to my country's BizSpark contact detail instead of the .com one and that made all the difference. I got an amazing response from the local team being phoned within a few hours of dropping the mail. By the end of the day my application was approved.
My only suggestion to Microsoft would be to throw in an Office365 benefit to host your start-up Emails since then you quite literally can start a 1-5 man company with zero infrastructure and tool overhead and obviously MS wins in the medium to long run since products get developed in their stack.
+1 Microsoft.