For a period of time, I have access to both an MSDN and a TechNet subscription. Both offer Microsoft software for download. I wondered what the similarities and differences were between the two subscriptions. I copied the two download lists into Excel and aligned them. Most of the material I would never use. Some products I have never heard of. I present the lists, current as of today, for your reviewing pleasure.
| TechNet | MSDN |
| Applications (63) | Applications (79) |
| Access 2.0 | |
| Access 2003 | Access 2003 |
| Access 2007 | Access 2007 |
| Access 2010 | Access 2010 |
| Accounting | Accounting |
| Business Contact Manager | Business Contact Manager |
| Business Contact Manager 2010 | Business Contact Manager 2010 |
| Business ScoreCard Manager | Business ScoreCard Manager |
| Duet Enterprise for Microsoft SharePoint and SAP | Duet Enterprise for Microsoft SharePoint and SAP |
| Front Page | Front Page |
| Groove 2007 | Groove 2007 |
| Hyper-V Server 2008 | Hyper-V Server 2008 |
| Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 | Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 |
| InfoPath 2003 | InfoPath 2003 |
| InfoPath 2007 | InfoPath 2007 |
| InfoPath 2010 | InfoPath 2010 |
| Interconnect 2004 | Interconnect 2004 |
| Interconnect 2007 | Interconnect 2007 |
| Internet Explorer 6.0 | Internet Explorer 6.0 |
| Lync 2010 | Lync 2010 |
| MapPoint 2004 | |
| MapPoint 2006 | |
| MapPoint 2009 | |
| MapPoint 2010 | |
| MapPoint 2011 | |
| Office 2003 | Office 2003 |
| Office 2007 | Office 2007 |
| Office 2010 | Office 2010 |
| Office 95 | |
| Office Communicator 2005 | Office Communicator 2005 |
| Office Communicator 2007 | Office Communicator 2007 |
| Office Communicator 2007 R2 | Office Communicator 2007 R2 |
| Office Communicator Mobile | |
| Office Communicator Web | |
| Office Communicator Web Access | Office Communicator Web Access |
| Office for Mac 2011 | Office for Mac 2011 |
| Office Servers 2007 | Office Servers 2007 |
| Office XP | Office XP |
| OneNote 2003 | OneNote 2003 |
| OneNote 2007 | OneNote 2007 |
| OneNote 2010 | OneNote 2010 |
| Outlook 2003 | Outlook 2003 |
| Outlook 2007 | Outlook 2007 |
| Outlook 2010 | Outlook 2010 |
| Parallels Desktop | |
| Patterns & Practices | Patterns & Practices |
| PerformancePoint Server | PerformancePoint Server |
| PowerPivot | PowerPivot |
| ProClarity | ProClarity |
| Project 2002 | Project 2002 |
| Project 2003 | Project 2003 |
| Project 2003 Server | Project 2003 Server |
| Project 2007 | Project 2007 |
| Project 2010 | Project 2010 |
| Project 95 | |
| Project Portfolio Server 2006 | Project Portfolio Server 2006 |
| Project Portfolio Server 2007 | Project Portfolio Server 2007 |
| Publisher 2002 | |
| Publisher 2003 | Publisher 2003 |
| Publisher 2007 | Publisher 2007 |
| Publisher 2010 | Publisher 2010 |
| SharePoint Designer 2007 | SharePoint Designer 2007 |
| SharePoint Designer 2010 | |
| SharePoint Workspace 2010 | SharePoint Workspace 2010 |
| Small Business Accounting (Application) | Small Business Accounting (Application) |
| Streets and Trips 2009 | |
| Streets and Trips and AutoRoute 2010 | |
| Streets and Trips and AutoRoute 2011 | |
| Virtual PC 2004 | Virtual PC 2004 |
| Virtual PC 2007 | Virtual PC 2007 |
| Virtual PC for Mac 6.1 | Virtual PC for Mac 6.1 |
| Virtual PC for Mac 7.0 | Virtual PC for Mac 7.0 |
| Virtual Server 2005 | Virtual Server 2005 |
| Virtual Server 2005 R2 | Virtual Server 2005 R2 |
| Visio 2002 | Visio 2002 |
| Visio 2003 | Visio 2003 |
| Visio 2007 | Visio 2007 |
| Visio 2010 | Visio 2010 |
| Windows Virtual PC | Windows Virtual PC |
| Business Solutions (27) | Business Solutions (28) |
| Dynamics AX 2009 | Dynamics AX 2009 |
| Dynamics AX 4.0 | Dynamics AX 4.0 |
| Dynamics Axapta 3.0 | Dynamics Axapta 3.0 |
| Dynamics CRM 1.2 | |
| Dynamics CRM 2011 | Dynamics CRM 2011 |
| Dynamics CRM 3.0 | Dynamics CRM 3.0 |
| Dynamics CRM 4.0 | Dynamics CRM 4.0 |
| Dynamics GP 10.0 | Dynamics GP 10.0 |
| Dynamics GP 2010 | Dynamics GP 2010 |
| Dynamics GP 7.5 | Dynamics GP 7.5 |
| Dynamics GP 8.0 | Dynamics GP 8.0 |
| Dynamics GP 9.0 | Dynamics GP 9.0 |
| Dynamics NAV 2009 | Dynamics NAV 2009 |
| Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 | Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 |
| Dynamics NAV 4.0 | Dynamics NAV 4.0 |
| Dynamics NAV 5.0 | Dynamics NAV 5.0 |
| Dynamics Point of Sale 2009 | Dynamics Point of Sale 2009 |
| Dynamics SL 7.0 | Dynamics SL 7.0 |
| Point of Sale 1.0 | Point of Sale 1.0 |
| Small Business Accounting | Small Business Accounting |
| Small Business Manager Financials 7.5 | Small Business Manager Financials 7.5 |
| Small Business Manager Financials 8.0 | Small Business Manager Financials 8.0 |
| Small Business Manager Financials 9.0 | Small Business Manager Financials 9.0 |
| Solomon 5.5 | Solomon 5.5 |
| Solomon 6.0 | Solomon 6.0 |
| Solomon 6.5 | Solomon 6.5 |
| Solomon 7.0 | Solomon 7.0 |
| Solomon FRx | Solomon FRx |
| Designer Tools (6) | |
| AutoCollage 2008 | |
| Expression 1 | |
| Expression 2 | |
| Expression 3 | |
| Expression 4 | |
| Songsmith | |
| Developer Tools (43) | |
| Access Developer Extensions 2003 | |
| Automatic Graph Layout | |
| Electronic Learning Libraries | |
| eMbedded Visual C++ 4.0 | |
| Macro Assembler 6.11 | |
| MDAC | |
| ODBC Data Packs | |
| QuickBasic 4.5 | |
| Robotics Studio | |
| SharePoint Services 3.0 Tools | |
| Visual Basic .NET 2003 | |
| Visual Basic 2.0 | |
| Visual Basic 3.0 | |
| Visual Basic 4.0 | |
| Visual Basic 6.0 | |
| Visual Basic 6.0 Code Advisor | |
| Visual Basic Applications (VBA) | |
| Visual C++ 1.52 | |
| Visual C++ 2.0 | |
| Visual C++ 4.2 | |
| Visual C++ Browser Toolkit | |
| Visual C++ Tools | |
| Visual FoxPro "Sedna" | |
| Visual FoxPro 7.0 | |
| Visual FoxPro 8.0 | |
| Visual FoxPro 9.0 | |
| Visual J#.NET | |
| Visual Modeler | |
| Visual SourceSafe 2005 | |
| Visual SourceSafe 6.0d | |
| Visual Studio 2005 | |
| Visual Studio 2008 | |
| Visual Studio 2010 | |
| Visual Studio LightSwitch 2011 | |
| Visual Studio.NET | |
| Visual Studio.NET 2003 | |
| Windows Embedded | |
| Windows Embedded CE 5.0 | |
| Windows Embedded CE 6.0 | |
| Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 | |
| Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R3 | |
| Windows XP Embedded | |
| XNA Game Studio | |
| MSDN Library (11) | |
| 2001-10 MSDN Library October | |
| 2005-07 MSDN Library July | |
| 2006-01 MSDN Library January | |
| 2006-05 MSDN Library May | |
| 2006-06 MSDN Library June | |
| 2006-07 MSDN Library July | |
| 2006-08 MSDN Library August | |
| 2006-12 MSDN Library December | |
| 2007-01 MSDN Library January | |
| 2007-04 MSDN Library April | |
| 2007-06 MSDN Library June | |
| Operating Systems (31) | Operating Systems (33) |
| Compute Cluster Pack | Compute Cluster Pack |
| MS-DOS | MS-DOS |
| Small Business Server 2003 R2 | Small Business Server 2003 R2 |
| Windows 3.1 (16-bit) | Windows 3.1 (16-bit) |
| Windows 3.11 (16-bit) | Windows 3.11 (16-bit) |
| Windows 3.11 for Workgroups (16-bit) | Windows 3.11 for Workgroups (16-bit) |
| Windows 3.2 (16-bit) | Windows 3.2 (16-bit) |
| Windows 7 | Windows 7 |
| Windows Advanced Server | Windows Advanced Server |
| Windows CE .NET Platform Builder 4.1 | |
| Windows CE .NET Platform Builder 4.2 | |
| Windows CE DirectX Kit | Windows CE DirectX Kit |
| Windows CE Toolkit Visual C++ 6.0 | Windows CE Toolkit Visual C++ 6.0 |
| Windows Essential Business Server 2008 | Windows Essential Business Server 2008 |
| Windows Home Server | Windows Home Server |
| Windows Home Server 2011 | Windows Home Server 2011 |
| Windows Internet Explorer 7 | Windows Internet Explorer 7 |
| Windows Internet Explorer 8 | Windows Internet Explorer 8 |
| Windows Server 2003 | Windows Server 2003 |
| Windows Server 2003 R2 | Windows Server 2003 R2 |
| Windows Server 2008 | Windows Server 2008 |
| Windows Server 2008 R2 | Windows Server 2008 R2 |
| Windows Services for UNIX 1.0 | Windows Services for UNIX 1.0 |
| Windows Services for UNIX 2.0 | Windows Services for UNIX 2.0 |
| Windows Services for UNIX 3.0 | Windows Services for UNIX 3.0 |
| Windows Services for UNIX 3.5 | Windows Services for UNIX 3.5 |
| Windows Small Business Server 2008 | Windows Small Business Server 2008 |
| Windows Small Business Server 2011 | Windows Small Business Server 2011 |
| Windows Storage Server 2008 | Windows Storage Server 2008 |
| Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 | Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 |
| Windows Thin PC | Windows Thin PC |
| Windows Vista | Windows Vista |
| Windows XP | Windows XP |
| Servers (80) | Servers (84) |
| Antigen | Antigen |
| Application Virtualization | Application Virtualization |
| BizTalk Server 2002 | BizTalk Server 2002 |
| BizTalk Server 2004 | BizTalk Server 2004 |
| BizTalk Server 2006 | BizTalk Server 2006 |
| BizTalk Server 2006 R2 | BizTalk Server 2006 R2 |
| BizTalk Server 2009 | BizTalk Server 2009 |
| BizTalk Server 2010 | BizTalk Server 2010 |
| BizTalk Server Accelerators and Adapters | BizTalk Server Accelerators and Adapters |
| Commerce Server 2002 | Commerce Server 2002 |
| Commerce Server 2007 | |
| Commerce Server 2009 | Commerce Server 2009 |
| Connected Services Framework | Connected Services Framework |
| Content Management Server | Content Management Server |
| Customer Care Framework 2005 | Customer Care Framework 2005 |
| Customer Care Framework 2008 | Customer Care Framework 2008 |
| Customer Care Framework 2009 | Customer Care Framework 2009 |
| Desktop Optimization Pack | Desktop Optimization Pack |
| Exchange Server 2003 | Exchange Server 2003 |
| Exchange Server 2007 | Exchange Server 2007 |
| Exchange Server 2010 | Exchange Server 2010 |
| FAST Search Server 2010 | FAST Search Server 2010 |
| Forefront Client Security | Forefront Client Security |
| Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010 | Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010 |
| Forefront Identity Manager 2010 | Forefront Identity Manager 2010 |
| Forefront Protection 2010 | Forefront Protection 2010 |
| Forefront Security for Exchange Server | Forefront Security for Exchange Server |
| Forefront Security for SharePoint | Forefront Security for SharePoint |
| Forefront Security, Office Communications Server | Forefront Security, Office Communications Server |
| Forefront Server Security Management Console | Forefront Server Security Management Console |
| Forefront Threat Management Gateway 2010 | Forefront Threat Management Gateway 2010 |
| Forefront Unified Access Gateway 2010 | Forefront Unified Access Gateway 2010 |
| Groove Server 2007 | Groove Server 2007 |
| Groove Server 2010 | Groove Server 2010 |
| Host Integration Server 2000 | Host Integration Server 2000 |
| Host Integration Server 2004 | Host Integration Server 2004 |
| Host Integration Server 2006 | Host Integration Server 2006 |
| Identity Integration Server 2003 | Identity Integration Server 2003 |
| Identity Lifecycle Manager 2007 | Identity Lifecycle Manager 2007 |
| ISA Server 2004 | ISA Server 2004 |
| ISA Server 2006 | ISA Server 2006 |
| Live Communications Server 2003 | Live Communications Server 2003 |
| Live Communications Server 2005 | Live Communications Server 2005 |
| Lync Server 2010 | Lync Server 2010 |
| Mobile Information 2001 Server | |
| Mobile Information 2002 Server | |
| Office Communications Server 2007 | Office Communications Server 2007 |
| Office Communications Server 2007 R2 | Office Communications Server 2007 R2 |
| Office Forms Server 2007 | Office Forms Server 2007 |
| Office Server Language Pack 2010 | Office Server Language Pack 2010 |
| Office Web Apps | Office Web Apps |
| Operations Manager 2000 | Operations Manager 2000 |
| Operations Manager 2005 | Operations Manager 2005 |
| Project Server | Project Server |
| Project Server 2010 | Project Server 2010 |
| Search Server 2008 | Search Server 2008 |
| Search Server 2010 | Search Server 2010 |
| SharePoint Server 2001 | SharePoint Server 2001 |
| SharePoint Server 2003 | SharePoint Server 2003 |
| SharePoint Server 2007 | SharePoint Server 2007 |
| SharePoint Server 2007 Search | SharePoint Server 2007 Search |
| SharePoint Server 2010 | SharePoint Server 2010 |
| Speech Server 2004 | Speech Server 2004 |
| SQL Server 2000 | SQL Server 2000 |
| SQL Server 2005 | SQL Server 2005 |
| SQL Server 2008 | SQL Server 2008 |
| SQL Server 2008 R2 | SQL Server 2008 R2 |
| SQL Server 6.5 | |
| SQL Server Code Named "Denali" CTP | SQL Server Code Named "Denali" CTP |
| SQL Server Compact 3.5 | SQL Server Compact 3.5 |
| System Center Capacity Planner | System Center Capacity Planner |
| System Center Configuration Manager | System Center Configuration Manager |
| System Center Data Protection Manager | System Center Data Protection Manager |
| System Center Essentials 2007 | System Center Essentials 2007 |
| System Center Essentials 2010 | System Center Essentials 2010 |
| System Center Mobile Device Manager | System Center Mobile Device Manager |
| System Center Operations Manager | System Center Operations Manager |
| System Center Reporting Manager 2006 | System Center Reporting Manager 2006 |
| System Center Service Manager | System Center Service Manager |
| System Center Virtual Machine Manager | System Center Virtual Machine Manager |
| Systems Management Server 2003 | Systems Management Server 2003 |
| Systems Management Server 2003 R2 | Systems Management Server 2003 R2 |
| Windows Embedded Device Manager | Windows Embedded Device Manager |
| Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 | Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 |
| TechNet Technical Library (1) | |
| TechNet Technical Library | |
| TechNet Technical Training (5) | |
| Technet Briefings | |
| TechNet Webcasts | |
| Technical Services Guides | |
| Windows Server 2008 Training | |
| Windows Vista Training | |
| Tools and Resources (30) | Tools and Resources (105) |
| .NET Compact Framework 1.0 | .NET Compact Framework 1.0 |
| .NET Compact Framework 2.0 | .NET Compact Framework 2.0 |
| .NET Framework 1.0 | .NET Framework 1.0 |
| .NET Framework 1.1 | .NET Framework 1.1 |
| .NET Framework 2.0 | |
| .NET Framework 3.5 | |
| .NET Framework 4 | |
| .NET Framework Redistributable 1.0 | .NET Framework Redistributable 1.0 |
| .NET Framework Redistributable 2.0 | .NET Framework Redistributable 2.0 |
| .NET Framework Redistributable 3.0 | .NET Framework Redistributable 3.0 |
| .NET Micro Framework | |
| 16-bit SDK and DDKs | |
| Academic Alliance Tools | |
| Application Compatibility | Application Compatibility |
| ASP .NET AJAX 1.0 | |
| Azure SDK | |
| Bank Framework SDK and DDKs | |
| Baseline Security Analyzer 2.0.1 | Baseline Security Analyzer 2.0.1 |
| Bookshelf Symbol 7 | Bookshelf Symbol 7 |
| CMC SDK and DDKs | |
| CRC 3.05 | CRC 3.05 |
| Data Analyzer 2002 | Data Analyzer 2002 |
| Desktop Player | |
| Developer Security Resource Kit | |
| Device Simulator | |
| DHTML Editing SDK and DDKs | |
| Digital Dashboard | |
| DirectX SDK and DDKs | |
| Enterprise Instrumentation framework | |
| eScrum | |
| ESP 1.0 | |
| FabriKam 3.1 | |
| GIF Animator | |
| Healthcare Framework | |
| Help Workshop | |
| IIS | IIS |
| ILMerge | ILMerge |
| Interix 2.2 | |
| Internet Security and Acceleration | Internet Security and Acceleration |
| ISDN | |
| Log Parser | Log Parser |
| Mobile Internet Toolkit | |
| Modem Developer Kit | |
| MSDN Online Web Resource | |
| MSXML 4.0 | MSXML 4.0 |
| MSYubin7 1.5 | |
| Office Resource Kit | Office Resource Kit |
| Office System | |
| Palm Size PC 1.2 | |
| PassPort Manager | |
| Passport SDK and DDKs | |
| Platform SDK and DDKs | |
| Pocket PC 2003 SDK | |
| Provisioning System SDK | |
| Repository SDK and DDKs | |
| Security SDK and DDKs | |
| Semblio | |
| Server Appliance Kit | |
| Services for Netware | Services for Netware |
| SharePoint Products and Technologies | |
| Smart Card | |
| Smart Tag SDK and DDKs | |
| SMS 2003 SDK and DDKs | |
| Soap Toolkit | |
| Solver Foundation | Solver Foundation |
| Source Code Migration Tool | |
| Speech SDK and DDKs | |
| SQL 2000 Sybase | |
| SQL Server Migration Assistant | SQL Server Migration Assistant |
| SQL Server Tool (SQLH2) | SQL Server Tool (SQLH2) |
| Standard User Analyzer | |
| Surface | |
| Translation and UI Strings Glossaries | Translation and UI Strings Glossaries |
| UDDI SDK and DDKs | |
| Unified Communications Managed | |
| Virtual Earth | |
| Visio Tools | |
| Visual Basic for Applications | |
| Volume Shadow Copy Service | |
| Web Control SDK and DDKs | |
| Web Platform Installer | |
| Web Services Enhancements | |
| Web Storage SDK and DDKs | |
| Windows Academic Program | |
| Windows Communication Foundation | |
| Windows DNA XML | |
| Windows Hardware Compatibility | Windows Hardware Compatibility |
| Windows Installer | Windows Installer |
| Windows Media | |
| Windows Mobile 2002 | |
| Windows Mobile 2003 | |
| Windows Mobile 5.0 | |
| Windows Mobile 6.0 | |
| Windows NT 3.51 | |
| Windows Point of Service | |
| Windows Real-Time Communications | |
| Windows Rights Management Services | |
| Windows SDK and DDKs | |
| Windows Server Update | Windows Server Update |
| Windows SharePoint Services | |
| Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor 1.0 | Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor 1.0 |
| Windows Workflow Foundation | |
| WinFS | WinFS |
| WinFX Beta 1 | |
| WinFX Runtime Components CTP | |
| XML Parser 3.0 | XML Parser 3.0 |