You don't need to sign in if you specify a retail product key [1].
[1] http://sanderstechnology.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/imag...
Guess we'll have to wait and see what actually transpires but I hope they don't require login. Sometime I like to code offline and I don't want to get locked out of my IDE.
If I had to sign in to use software I'd be fecked in this situation again. Made me re-evaluate things pretty sharpish.
Considering the backlash they got with always-connected XBOX ONE and their subsequent backpedaling[1] after the criticism... plus the fact that many government programmers' computers cannot connect to the public internet, that type of requirement seems draconian. Does MS expect government programmers with security clearances not to be customers of VS2015?
Going forward, you will need to sign in to Visual Studio 2013 and 2015 with the Microsoft account associated with your active MSDN subscription through BizSpark.
BIZSPARK GRADUATION CHANGES: BizSpark members who complete the graduation process after 3 years in the program can keep most of the software downloaded through the program. However, because all versions of Visual Studio 2013 and 2015 will require you to sign in using a Microsoft account associated with an active MSDN subscription, startups will need to renew their MSDN subscriptions for each user running Visual Studio after graduation. BizSpark members have access to discounted MSDN subscriptions as part of their Graduation Offers. If you decide not to renew your MSDN subscriptions after graduation, you can still use one of these free editions: Visual Studio Community and Visual Studio Code.
If you have already downloaded Visual Studio 2013 and save your product key prior to the release of Visual Studio 2015 on July 20, you will be able to continue using Visual Studio 2013 after you graduate. You can find more information about graduation here.
So if you grab a license key before July 20th for VS2013, you can keep using it after your MSDN expires, but you can't keep using VS2015.
Maybe this is just Bizspark though, and doesn't apply to normal MSDN subscriptions.
Yes, the BizSpark situation would be understandable. In that case, dev teams of startup companies are getting 3 years of free (or $100?) Microsoft software. It is to be expected for some quid pro quo to happen: MS lets you use software for free -- and you in turn, are required to actively sign in.
That's a different situation from retail/enterprise MSDN subscriptions. Enterprise customers such as corporations and government are not intended for BizSpark so it wouldn't make sense to punish those paying customers with draconian login requirements. In any case, many of those enterprise customers behind firewalls can't connect to the internet.
Probably implies that at least the IDE only (no subscription) version will not require signing in.