Should have taken the version with MSDN subscription: that one includes VS upgrades, various Windows licenses and even some Azure credits.

It's worth noting that there are also Visual Studio subscriptions for anyone who doesn't want/need the full MSDN subscription:

https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/pricing/

Why should I pay for things I don't need? Every other company offers upgrade paths but not Microsoft. Had I known earlier they don't care about small devs I would have bought something else.

> Why should I pay for things I don't need?

You don't have to, but you are saying that you need to upgrade.

> Every other company offers upgrade paths but not Microsoft.

Many companies are moving to a SaaS model. Some, like Adobe and Autodesk, don't sell perpetual licenses at all. For engineering software you've always had to pay maintenance fees.

> Had I known earlier they don't care about small devs I would have bought something else.

Community edition is free for individuals and five licenses for small companies.

I get that you're disappointed that you can't upgrade for a cheaper price, but the perpetual, or standalone, license isn't for people who need upgrades and it says so clearly on the page (which might not have been there when you purschased it though):

"If all you need is the current version of Visual Studio Professional, you can make a one-time standalone license purchase. If you need new versions of Visual Studio Professional, access to Visual Studio Team Services, or have short-term needs then the Visual Studio Professional monthly subscription may be a better option."

https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/pricing/

Monthly subscription was not available for me in October.

> but the perpetual, or standalone, license isn't for people who need upgrades

This is endemic to Microsoft. Every other software I bought had discounted upgrade options. They also didn't say "hey we release new version in few months and will abandon this one and you will not be able to upgrade"

Maybe I am spoiled by other companies. Microsoft is certainly not small business friendly. Their support also was pathetic. It took them couple of months to say I can't upgrade.

>They also didn't say "hey we release new version in few months and will abandon this one and you will not be able to upgrade"

But preview builds for 2017 were available as early as march 2016, which comined with the prominent no upgrades included notice, should have told you the same thing.

I didn't see that. Was not aware of 2017 until it has been released.

I'd just use the community edition if the software I was writing is educational or free and open source.

You can legally use the Community edition for paid software, as long as your company has less than 5 employees and makes less than one million $/year or something like that (read the license carefully).

Check the license and usage here https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/community/

There's astounding amount of companies that are just telling employees to use community edition, too. Haven't yet heard of anyone being sued over it. (Just to clarify, I do not support or excuse this behaviour).

It is astounding how many people don't read the license. You can legally use VS Community in your company for paid software as long as you have less than 5 employees or make less than one million per year.

See https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/community/

Oh, I was talking about companies that are certainly bivger than that.

Not if you sell your product to a company that have more than 5 employees or make more than million. Essentially community edition is for students and enthusiasts.

With that much money coming in, you ought to be able to figure it out and buy the appropriate tools.

It is if client gets that money. If you write and sell your software to such clients you can't use community version even if you work alone and get paid less than a million.

Sorry, but you are just cheap if you complain that with 1 million profit you can't afford to pay for VS.

$1 million revenue.

Doesn't really change the point about being cheap, but a business with $1 million in profit is way more fun than a business with $1 million in revenue.

It also counts if your client has such revenue. You could be making little, but you can't use community version if you work with such clients.

If you are working on the client premises ask them to buy a license for you to use. If you are working from your home ... use the Community edition and that's it.

I have my own office and no, it is not "that's it".

I believe that the Express editions can be used for paid software.

Everyone keeps patting Microsoft on the back for taking the 'step' into opensource, but all I see is the same product rehashed half a dozen times and massive dependence upon MS's ecosystem for development. There's a reason they can pay hundreds of developers to make these products, because they're still making plenty of money, infact, they're probably making more than ever.