Students get deep Windows 7 price break With its deepest Windows 7 discounts yet, Microsoft is targeting students who might otherwise chose Apple. The company has announced qualified college and university students can obtain Windows 7 for just $30 in the US and 30 pounds in the UK. Students in the US can pre-order their copies from September 17 and download with …
If it's viable to do this for students to stop them getting "in bed" with linux or macs early on in their computer using careers, then why don't they do it for everyone.
I'm intending to make my next home PC a linux one (yes of course Ubuntu) but if windows 7 was on offer for 30 quid, I might re-consider.
"...obtain Windows 7 for just $30 in the US and 30 pounds in the UK."
Since when was US$1 = UK£1? Yet more confirmation that Microsoft does indeed practice daylight robbery. Why do people still do business with these sharks when they are confronted with blatant proof like this?
Sounds like a good deal to me, although the fact it's only an upgrade is a bit disappointing. Not sure if all the hardware changes I've made since buying Vista OEM will cause it to not activate (currently running w7 RC). It'll be fun to see if you can install it over an unactivated OS though.
That said, I've already got one of the £50 pre-orders but I don't necessarily trust it, I got it from PC World and either they had thousands more copies than everyone else or they over-sold. Seeing as they didn't take any money, I don't know if I can hold them to the price come release day - will have to get on the phone...
"...only available to students wit a valid copy of Vista/XP..."
They just can't resist making everything they do into a fucking piracy test.
I was interested, but now I'm not because - I wouldn't pay £90 for XP so I downloaded it for free.
Fuck Microsoft.
I'll stick with my Linux and Macs thanks - neither of them presume I'm a criminal from the outset (however accurate that assumption may happen to be in this instance).
No UK student is gonna get validated then, given that all UK educational institutions are .ac.uk, not .edu. Understanding of market FAIL.
If it's £30, and you require an existing genuine copy of XP or Vista, that'll be an upgrade edition then, won't it? Rather devious that they didn't mention that in the first place.
And what's with the pricing? $30 does not equal £30! Even if you take into account an average sales tax of 8%, $32.40 is just shy of £20.
Some of the flames here are pretty awesome. £1=$1 is a pain in the ass, but when you're getting such a huge discount does it really matter? Maybe if they were selling full priced retail packages and using that annoying conversion, you'd have a point.
And about the .edu email address thing, on Microsoft's site they do say somehing along the lines of "e.g jane@leeds.ac.uk".
Are you going to label that as "Fail" again because nobody gets their first name as their email address, it'll always be something like jhf9@leeds.ac.uk. Seriously, M$ (sorry, M£) haven't got a clue have they?
Sigh. It seems the only way some of the trolls here will be satisfied is if MS give it away for free, or going further and paying you to install it. No wait, that'll be labelled as bribery won't it?
Not only in Britain do we have to pay $1=£1, which is extortionate, but also, we have to have a validated version of Windows XP/Vista.
I am a student and I could not afford to buy Windows and was looking forward to this to getting a legit version. Now, I think I will stay with my pirated version! If Micro$oft really want to get students using legit versions, then get them Windows 7 for the price without having them needing a legit version of Windows. This would have been my chance to go on the straight. All the other software on my computer is legit, it's only Windows XP that isn't.
In other words, it is a total and epic fail.
I was considering switching to Ubuntu or similar, but have been holding back for two reasons:
1) My current, working nicely, set-up is an old TV for, well, TV/DVDs etc and a widescreen monitor for working at the PC (in different rooms). How can that possibly meet X's bullshit "square" virtual desktop demands? I'm going to be left with one that wants to scroll about and that is just utter shit. Why can't Linux get decent multi-head support like Windows has (it's one of the very few things Windows does better that Linux I.M.E.)
2) Lack of decent printer support (i.e. no Lexmark drivers). Yes, I know this is not the "fault" of Linux, but no Linux drivers means no Linux drivers.
The other half is a Uni student...I wonder if she will qualify for the Windows 7 deal? UKP30 is tempting...
So, Microsoft is "generously" offering a discount on what in many cases will be the *third* OS licence covering a machine? What a bargain!
Many institutions have corporate MS licences that allow students to install any version of Windows, and other software, at no additional cost. So students may be mislead into paying something for which Microsoft has already been paid, in additional to any licence that came with the machine. Or do you suppose that Microsoft will check the students' email address and tell them when they are already covered by an educational licence?
I think it is already bad enough that MS collects two licences for many machines under in corporate use: one that came with the machine, and an institutional licence to permit the use of a common OS image, without which it would not be feasible to manage the hairball of an OS .
@AC 08:40 GMT: it has always been Microsoft's "education" policy to get them while their young, so that using Microsoft becomes a life-long habit which they will keep feeding once they are earning money and making spending decisions. It's a classic dealers' (fake) "introductory offer".
In many cases this will be the first Microsoft licence that the students in question will have bought with their own money. Microsoft UK once had a head of "education" strategy who made no secret of the fact that her remit had absolutely nothing to do with education as such, but was concerned exclusively with the generation of future sales to future wage earners. This is why they go to such great lengths to stop schools around the world from moving away from Microsoft. The current offer is an integral part of this strategy: it weans future customers off the "free" stuff (previously paid for by schools and parents) while making additional MS profit.
@AC 07:24 GMT: I see that the article has been quietly edited since it was posted, correcting the UK addresses to .ac.uk from .edu. This has the unfortunate side-effect of making your comment look like a FAIL, when it really was the article.
"Quietly edited"? Yes. Should I have done it loudly?
I had to moderate approximately 60 comments this morning pointing out that one snafu. It was fun to read all the variations, until I became aware of the sound of someone sobbing with a strange animal tone, and then realised it was me.
Interestingly, at least ten of these leapt to the conclusion it was a deliberate dick move on the part of Microsoft to make it difficult for UK students to get the discount.
"Lack of decent printer support (i.e. no Lexmark drivers). Yes, I know this is not the "fault" of Linux, but no Linux drivers means no Linux drivers."
Never had a problem with a Canon, HP or Epson. Maybe you should get a decent printer - aren't Lexmarks equipped with some nasty little "thou shalt not use 3rd party cartridges" chip?
"I was interested, but now I'm not because - I wouldn't pay £90 for XP so I downloaded it for free." etc etc ad infinitum. If you don't want to pay for Windows, don't buy it. Use Ubuntu, it's pretty good and very free.
The upgrade here costs £30, if you don't already HAVE Windows then how do you expect to upgrade it? Do you walk into Tesco and eat the "50% free" out of food packets too?
Perhaps those who have the above view are an exception to the rule and honestly would have gone legit if it was only £30. But there has always been a common view that one shouldn't have to pay for Windows. Even when I was at school, people were copying Windows 3, then Windows 95 etc.
Yet, very few people would say it is acceptable to walk into PC World and take a PC for free, or order the components over the internet with a stolen credit card. Why is copying software any more acceptable?
Don't give me the "But I wouldn't have bought it anyway!" argument... you are going to considerably more effort to download or copy Windows than you would to legally download a free copy of Ubuntu or other free Linux! That's before you even get to the yearly need to find a new serial no. or crack because the latest Windows updates made your illegal copy stop working.
An A.C. writes, "Yet another student discount. Why do students get all the breaks?"
By that comment I presume you mean Office Student & Teacher Edition, etc.
Because the first hit is (almost) free. Hook 'em in school and they'e hooked for life. Not that it's a done deal - Apple tried that way back, and all the kids found out was once they left school, it was a Windows world.
When you have Microsoft's deep pockets, you can afford to give away something nobody wants, or cares that much about otherwise. It worked - in part thanks to the failure of the U. S. Department of Justice - splendidly for IE v. Netscape; the rest is history.
I do not have a Canon, HP or Epson. So you are telling me that an "upgrade" to Linux will cost me UKP200 or so? Cheaper to buy Windows 7 in that case. And, of course, get proper multi-head support into the bargain.
As for the cartridges, Lexmarks can use generic cartridges. However, certain re-badged Lexamrks (company name sounding like "Smell") will not accept generics due to changes in the design.
I would rather switch to a Linux distro...but there just isn't one out there that suits my needs and too many minor, but required feature, short-comings.
Here in Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, all our students get Windows 7 Professional for free. 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
And they can download and install it *now*. No need to wait for the retail release at all.
Sounds rather a better deal than £30 and then wait a month!
Once again a US company forgets that there are 33 million people just a little to the north, you'd think it would be easier to get us in on the deal than the UK...
Although I think I will be able to get it free from either my school or my student IEEE subscription. But still.
And no I won't use linux, I'm not a huge fan of the 2 hour battery life reduction that comes with it one my 901.
First anonymous@cowturd am using a Lexmark C532n color laser and Ubuntu's 8.04 through 9.04 + various netbook remix's. Not a problem. Exactly how long has it been since you actually used or tried Linux.
Second who supports this cheap Windows 7. Is this a way for Microsoft to get Windows 7 on computers that the manufactures/OEM's know will not work and do not wish to support.
If you buy a computer from an OEM with an OEM copy the OEM supports Windows/Drivers and all. If you upgrade through the OEM they still support you Windows/Drivers and all. If you buy from Microsoft then Microsoft will be supporting you. (What do they know about drivers for your computer.)
Sound like a snafu all around. This way Microsoft gets the OS on your computer and when it doesn't work says it the manufactures fault. When you contact the manufacturer they tell you its Microsofts fault. They didn't sell you the OS after all and yes they have no intention of upgrading the drivers.
1. Best to buy a new computer and still pay next to nothing for the OS. 2. Test release candidate first before making any upgrades.
Will that be the same "thou shalt not use generic cartridges" chip that causes mine to throw a wobbly, threaten the End Of The World As We Know It and generally sulk, throwing "out of ink" errors every five minutes, when presented with anything other than the vanilla item?
Oh, did I forget to mention that it's an Epson?.......
It does play nice with Linux though. I'll give it that.
right. In windows, multiple monitors have a problem. Games cant stretch across them. Same with movies. This can be fixed in windows with ati's new eyefinity tech:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/09/11/amd_eyefinity/
But Ati has to fix(trick) windows to work that way. Linux has no such hangups.
Proper muti-head support my a$$!
What's the point in students buying WIndows 7?
Most of them in the UK can get upgrade versions of Windows and several full MS apps for the cost of 'media' (£5-£10) via the Campus Agreement.
This and all the other deals that MS is having for W7 smack of desperation...
So, let's look at the schools in the Big Ten (*). These are big schools, outside of Northwestern (which has an enrollment larger than some state universities).
IN THE PROGRAM
NULL
OUT OF THE PROGRAM
Penn State
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Indiana
Purdue
Illinois
Northwestern
Iowa
Wisconsin
Minnesota
And a quick, cursory look give the same (or very similar) for the ACC schools, Big 12 (Texas was there), SEC, Pac-10, ...
Most of them are 'directional' schools, community colleges, and places that sound like either small hippy schools or suburban housing developments.
In other words, this is pretty much a no-go for 90% of the college students out there.
(*) Yes, it is 11 schools, but let it go.
"Once again a US company forgets that there are 33 million people just a little to the north, you'd think it would be easier to get us in on the deal than the UK..."
Not until you apologize for Celine Dion, William Shatner, and Brian Adams.
(And just to warn you, I've got an Ann Murray reference and I'm not afraid to use it.)
"1) [Linux doesn't do multihead]"
It does. I am fairly confident you could dual-display on an HDTV and the screen of you new Casio watch, should the need arise. Of course your graphics hardware needs to be able to do it, but apparently that's the case.
"2) Lack of decent printer support (i.e. no Lexmark drivers). Yes, I know this is not the "fault" of Linux, but no Linux drivers means no Linux drivers." and "UKP200" (for a printer)
You've been looking in the wrong places. Unless you have a strange one-of-a-king printer, you should be able to find drivers. I print on a lexmark from my Linux boxen on a daily basis. Though the printer is a piece of crap tbh. And 200 quids for a printer? I assume it's one of these printer/fax/scanner/coffee machine combos. And by "lack of drivers" you then probably mean "lack of shiny 'solution center' graphical interface with big shiny colourful buttons to disguise the fact that it's actually only a very crappy image editing software"? In that case you'd be right. And it's a darn good thing, too.
Linux might not be perfect, but you might want to actually try it before dissing it. Though it's not The Ultimate Saviour of The World, I generally find it pretty good, even for desktop use. Better than Windows in any case. Of course it still won't run Crysis with details on high -though rumor has it that a Google employee managed to get 20 FPS in full-res, however they had to allocate a full datacentre to the job.
And also "I would rather switch to a Linux distro...but there just isn't one out there that suits my needs" is a bit bold. If anything, there are far too many of the things laying around, you'd be very unlucky if there wasn't one for you. But then you could roll your own (easier than you might think).
Forget discounts, after using Ubuntu, CentOS and Puppy for some years now and enjoying the win-back of time from not having to do proactive firewalling/virus scanning/malware much less recovery from clickjacking, registry corruption, and reinstalls from registry rot; I would expect MS to PAY ME to use their POS Operating System...
For those who complain that the Brits are getting a bad deal... Yes the deal is not as good as for the US, but what about the rest of the world... M$hafted again.
Microsoft is not looking at thing intelligently again. By continuously trying to offer deals for some and excluding others, M$ is upsetting the vast majority of the planet. Family packs for some, Student discounts for others (or same) etc. Many will use pirated software, even in the enterprise, like it is common practice in China and India.
Since M$ has the biggest share of the market place, it should be easier for them to make the cheapest OS.... Once it is cheap enough, China and India will be looking at purchasing instead of pirating.... Big customer base.
For people complaining that their school is not on the list,.
. A valid e-mail address given by a college or university must be used. An e-mail will be sent telling the student if he or she qualifies for the discount. Eligible students are allowed to purchase one copy of either Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Professional from the online store.
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