After looking at some of the options, I chose to pay $699/year for the "pro" subscription. It's essentially "premium" without Office. Since I'm usually OK with an older version of Office apps, they can be purchased cheap (eg, eBay). The SWI (Software International) subscription price is the same for each of the 3 years. With the first-year price at $699, it's cheap insurance for me. If I plan to buy 2+ single items from Microsoft, it's breaking even right away. Another strong motivation for me is convenience... one-stop-shopping and downloadable updates. For example, I subscribed to VS 2005 pro, but when 2008 came out, I received those DVDs in the mail. If a client wants me to develop using the old VS Pro 6, I go download that. For someone doing development in a changing environment (eg, large company or free lance consulting), it seems to me the subscription cost quickly gets reasonable. If you need to write a purchase justification and wait 4-6wks for approval each time you add a .NET language or another operating system, buy a subscription! John C's point is well taken. Choose carefully. I'm perhaps a little more inclined toward a subscription, but I've probably subscribed in just 3 of the last 7 years. In other words, I'm somewhere between "don't do it" and "do it". BTW, the student and "product development" options are far cheaper and great for those that satisfy the right equirements. Good luck...

Have a look at SWI. They're a Microsoft "partner". In any case, they have an option for 3-year, renewable subscriptions for maybe $1500/yr for the premium. The subscriptions are all labeled "Visual Studio 2005", but as a subscriber you get all new/updated products during your subscription period. Of course, you can choose not to renew after your first year. My subscription is about 6-months old, and, so far, it's great. I just downloaded and installed VS 2008 a few weeks ago. Website: www.software-intl.com Good luck.