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Azure is Free… Times Three

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imageI’d like to say the season of giving has inspired us, but that’s not really the case.  Windows Azure usage – with limits, of course – has been freely available for a while, but I’ve found that not all that many folks know about it, or about how easy it is to sign up.

Now that my colleagues and I have completed our Fall 2010 Azure Firestarter tour, I thought it would be a good opportunity to produce a few short screencasts that walk through how to sign up for those free Windows Azure benefits that are available to practically anyone.

There are three screencasts in all, and the longest is just 5 1/2 minutes.  Why three?  Well. there are a number of offers in market, and they each have different qualification requirements, benefit allotments, and convertibility as summarized below and detailed in each of the videos.

Introductory Special
  • available to all
  • recurring monthly benefit (credit card required for overages)
  • available through March 31, 2011
  • convertible to other paid accounts
MSDN Subscribers
  • available to MSDN Premium & Ultimate subscribers
  • recurring monthly benefit (credit card required for overages)
  • 8 month period (renewable once)
  • convertible to other paid accounts
Windows Azure Pass
  • available in select markets only
  • single 30-day period of benefits
  • not convertible to other accounts

Now that you've got your account, what next?   Well, writing and running “Hello, world cloud”, of course!  These links should help you along:

and once you’ve gotten past that, the sky’s (ahem!) the limit!

Comments

  • Anonymous
    December 22, 2010
    "indefinite duration" is a bit misleading when the linked site clearly states that the introductory period ends on March 31st.

  • Anonymous
    December 22, 2010
    Point taken, and note I've updated the post.  I actually mention the March 31st date in the screencast, so it was not only misleading, but inconsistent :( That said, I'd be extremely surprised if there isn't an extension or similar offer available after that point, but can offer no guarantees.

  • Anonymous
    January 27, 2011
    and I think you told me that Azure is free to BizSpark Startups for the duration of their BizSpark Startup status (3 years) - is that correct?