Time to renew my MSDN subscription. I don’t know about you but I’m still very pleased with the MSDN program.

In the old pre DVD days it used to be quite a problem what to do with the enormous piles of disks you received over and over again. Especially those things you never use. Anyone interested in a Finish version of Exchange server ? A Greek version of Windows 98 ? Since DVD times the piles has gotten a little smaller, but still. Googling around what to do with all these disks pops up an old rant of mine on this.

Being a biologist with a huge interest in aquarium fish (see my W7 betta rant) and an “old goat-wool-socks” environmental concern I thought I had a good use. Digital disk are very reflective, using them as a reflector for the light in my aquarium would give the disks a new life and would increase the effectiveness of fish tank lighting. So I tried.

This is what the result looked like in less than a year.

Moist has crept between the reflective (aluminum) layer and the (polycarbonate) disk itself and completely oxidized the metal. Resulting in a surface which reflects far less than the ground surface itself. Lesson learned: this does not work.

What you can do today with your disks is what I already asked for in my original rant: don’t get them. MSDN subscriptions now offer a download only option. You are free to download what you need (and what’s in your license). For many a product this was what I did already, downloading got me the product long before the disk finally arrived by mail. So if you want to stop wasting resources too: do switch to this subscription type. The only wish I have left is to save a little on money. Not producing and distributing the disks saves MS in the costs. I would like a small share of that in the form of a reduction on my MSDN fee. Fair deal ?