However, if you are a college student, Microsoft has a truly amazing bargain. This is the Academic version – as Microsoft calls it, The Ultimate Steal. This is only good for an upgrade, not a full installation. They will sell you an upgrade to Windows Vista Ultimate Edition for $64.95, as a download, or a DVD for an additional $13.00, and email you a valid Microsoft key for the product at the approved email address. Purchase the product as a download and also order the DVD if you want a hard copy of the program. The program started in July 2008, and continues through December 31, 2010. (Microsoft reserves the right to terminate or extend the program at anytime.)
You will get an exclusive edition of Vista Ultimate, the Red version, if you are able to take advantage of the Academic Vista Ultimate deal. It contains some additional features and Microsoft also makes a donation to a worthy cause when you purchase the academic version.
Requirements:
- You must be enrolled in a US institution of higher education, taking at least .5 credit hours of course work.
- You must provide, if requested, proof that you are attending that institution.
- You must have an email address ending in .edu, or if your school does not supply email addresses, proof that you are enrolled at an approved educational institution.. You can upload a scan to Microsoft showing either your student ID, a class list, or proof of course payment to the school. They will request a scan of your proof to upload, your first and last name, an email address (only live.com, msn.com or hotmail.com accepted) and the name of your school or university. They will let you know in one to two weeks if you are eligible.
Qualifying operating systems for the upgrade are:
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- any version of Windows Vista, including Business versions N/K/KN, 32 bit or 64 bit
- any version of Windows XP, including the tablet PC edition, 32 bit or 64 bit
- or Windows 2000 Professional, Windows NT Workstation 4.0, Windows 98 (including 2nd edition), Apple Macintosh
Microsoft will also sell three other software products at special rates, and eligible students can purchase one license for each product. These are:
- Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007; A perpetual license is $59.95
- Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2007; A perpetual license is $55.95
- Microsoft Office Language Pack 2007; A perpetual license for a single language pack (not available on disk) is $9.95
Purchase Limitations: An eligible student can purchase one each of these product licenses.
