I'm just a curious joe

Published on October 27, 2009 By CharlesCS In Personal Computing

I have an article I wrote a few weeks back, found here, asking about getting a copy of Windows 7 from a friend who got it from school at student discount. I got some great answers but I am still curious about something.

Does this copy sold to students have a way for Microsoft to know if it's a student copy or is this copy just like any copy you buy at the store? I ask because I remember I bought a PC many years ago from a guy who built and sold them and he had installed an unregistered copy of Office XP Student Edition on it. Like this Windows, this Office XP Student Edition was meant for (obviously) students. I took it off cause it did not have a lot of the programs, was not registered and it was a student version which I wasn't. So will this PC say student edition on it like this Office XP did?

I'm just curious, it's in my nature to ask these things. It would be interesting to know how Microsoft avoids people from getting these cheaper copies considering it's around $30 for students compared to the store price of around $200. How do they know? The serial number?

Comments (Page 2)

angus1949

on Oct 28, 2009

uhhh.....so, you don't want to tell us about you and Sam, huh?

Uh, Doc was alluding to Sam the Terrapin (turtle)and local nemesis. Pinching a turtle is a whole other sublject.

starkers

on Oct 28, 2009

best deal going is probably the home premium upgrade family pack.......3 users for between $120-150 depending on where you get it

Might want to get in quick for that. I saw on the news last night (channel 7 Oz) that MS is going to discontinue the 'Family Pack' deal in the next couple of weeks... it will no longer be. Dunno why that was newsworthy here, though.... it was never made available in Oz.

zakai1369

on Oct 29, 2009

Dunno why that was newsworthy here, though.... it was never made available in Oz.

To cheer you up by letting you know that you won't be the only ones to miss out on it?

starkers

on Oct 29, 2009

zakai1369

reply 18

Dunno why that was newsworthy here, though.... it was never made available in Oz.

To cheer you up by letting you know that you won't be the only ones to miss out on it?

Yeah, Microsoft missed the boat here big time... quite a few people with families are saying that they'll give Win 7 a miss because the Family Pack was not made available in Oz, and they can't afford to kit out the whole family with individual licenses.

To be honest, I don't know what MS was thinking, making the Family Pack available only to a select few. I read somewhere that it was their aim to have Win 7 on as many PC's worldwide as possible, to help reduce support for XP, but MS has dropped the ball by neglecting certain markets... and they will lose sales as a result.

As it is, the Oz base price for Win 7 Home Premium is $50 more than the US base price, not taking into consideration the exchange rate. With the Oz dollar trading above 90c US these days, the Oz base price should be lower than when prices were first announced and the AUD was fetching only 60 - 70c US... but no, the base price remains the same.

Fortunately I was able to snare 2 copies of Win 7 Home Premium for AUD $129 each (less 5% for cash), one each for the missus and I, but in the absence of a Family Pack the spare machines will remain with XP/Vista.

Pinching a turtle is a whole other sublject.

I'll Say!! Hey Ed, did you ever get over the embarrassment of turning up at the ER with your finger and thumb firmly stuck inside the shell?

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!