I have been an action pack subscriber for the last 6 years. There are no special requirements besides being a registered Microsoft partner. The action pack (sometimes referred to as MAPS) gives you a collection of current software to try out and use for projects, research, or interal use.

Although, there are a few things I do not like about the action pack:

• Duration of Use
• Organization
• Media Delivery

I have attending several events with Microsoft MVPs and Microsoft employees. Everyone has a different answer about the duration of use. Currently, the offical use (and Microsoft changes this often) is limited to the most recent version only. Meaning, you may receive Windows Server 2003, but once Windows Server 2003 R2 ships, you are soposed to migrate or upgrade to R2 as your standard license is no longer valid. Needless to say, this hasn’t been popular among subscribers. If your internal company server runs 2003 R2, you don’t always have the time or resources to migrate to Windows Server 2008. Frankly, it isn’t a reasonable request. The software isn’t free. It still runs $299 for the kit.

The organization is terrible. You get a large zip-style 3 ring binder full the CD’s and license keys. In the older versions, each key also had the product printed on it. If I removed the Visio and Frontpage CDs from their sleeve, I still knew which key was for which. This idea must have been canned, so you would be wise to document all the keys when you first get the action pack before they get all mixed up like mine.

My last complaint is the delivery of media. You will receive several updates (4 a year I believe) with new software media and license keys. I feel it would make everyone’s lives easier if we had the option to downloads they keys and ISOs of the media. Just my 2 cents on the action pack.