Microsoft to Show Students Some Love

[Hazirak]

How would you like a 100% free copy of Microsoft Visual Studio 2008? What if Microsoft Expression Studio was in that package as well? Still not enough? Then what if Windows Server 2003 and XNA Game Studio 2.0 were in that package as well?

No, this isn't a thread for another warez site - this is a 100% genuine promotion by Microsoft for current college students called DreamSpark. Simply verify that you that you are indeed a student, and all of the previously mentioned products are yours for the princely sum of $0.00.

Please note at the time of this posting, this offer is only open to current college students in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Germany, France, Finland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Belgium. If you live anywhere else, you're pretty much out of luck.

 

[Christopher]

Dumb microsoft. Can't they do this for people in high school to?

 

[Anna]

news here in sweden talked about that being a possibility later on (or rather for what I figure to be the equivalent of High School)

 

[masshuu]

i feel so hated. i would have so much use for these.

 

[deadimp]

i feel so hated. i would have so much use for these.

Well, there's always Visual Studio Express, which has been updated recently and is free. Chances are that if you aren't really at the point to purchase the Visual Studio Suite at full price, you don't have much need for the functionality beyond Express.

I was under the impression that XNA Game Studio was free... It was when I downloaded the beta.

Plus, I'll [hopefully] qualify for this by next school year
(Though I'll stick with Express, since I hardly use it enough)

 

[noerrorsfound]

They're only trying to get people to use their products. It'd be better for them to give away free copies of Visual Studio than have the students continue using free programs not made by Microsoft.

 

[masshuu]

Well, there's always Visual Studio Express, which has been updated recently and is free. Chances are that if you aren't really at the point to purchase the Visual Studio Suite at full price, you don't have much need for the functionality beyond Express.

I was under the impression that XNA Game Studio was free... It was when I downloaded the beta.

Plus, I'll [hopefully] qualify for this by next school year
(Though I'll stick with Express, since I hardly use it enough)

so your also saying i sould dump my $700 worth of hardware cause i don't need any more power than my cheap laptop offers? as im not putting it to use?

its because i want to have that power and ability at hand. just like i want the power of a full release, not express.

I could also use a copy of windows server 2003 for testing purposes and play.

 

[GamingX]

I read that, dumb Microsoft couldn't do that in my country. But that't nothing, piracy thrives here and they know it, except they can't do anything about it.

 

[deadimp]

so your also saying i sould dump my $700 worth of hardware cause i don't need any more power than my cheap laptop offers? as im not putting it to use?

Not at all. You were willing to invest $700 into it, so I would guess you had some sort of idea what you wanted ahead of time and put some sort of planning into it. If you're willing to spend, then go right ahead.
Otherwise, there are other free options and someone doesn't need to mull over not having something else...
I didn't mean to say that you shouldn't spend money on more power.

 

[sunils]

I think it given only in china in asian continent

 

[Spartan Erik]

Why yes I am a college student; <3 Microsoft for freebies

Other than that, </3, and tons of it!

 

[warlordste]

i got VS with my college for nothing but am thinking bout gettint the rest to lol

 

[mvd7793]

By 2009, they want everyone to have it. FYI: High school students are supposed to come around next fall.

 

[Smith6612]

Geez, I'm in High School right now, and if I could get this, I would. It'd be a cool thing to mess around with the Micrsoft software, and make some stuff, and my download machine in me is dying for something large to download (game demos, grr...).

 

[Xemnas]

I was under the impression that XNA Game Studio was free... It was when I downloaded the beta.

I think that there's XNA Game Studio (the "main" product if you will); there is XNA Game Studio Express, which adds XNA Framework functionality to Visual C# 2005 Express Edition, and also Visual Studio 2005 (as of XNA 2.0). Which brings me to my other point: you don't really need the paid versions of Visual Studio, unless you want to program non-freeware software or you don't have a decent image editor (the one in Visual Studio Professional is great for making bitmaps). If you just want to make freeware quickly and easily, just download the Express Editions. (of course, if you want to avoid .NET you could learn C++ and program using the Windows API, but iif you do though, you'd better know your stuff)

 

[Camarago]

Eh they are just trying to promote themselves more than they already are

 

[Swiblet]

Well, I ripped them off of every software on that site =) I'm a college student. Lucky me, huh?

~~B3N

 

[sumitmehta]

Thanks for the info. I hope India is included soon. In fact, I am surprised not to see India in that preliminary list, after all India has a special place in software and IT.