IU students can now buy Windows 7 for discounted price

Although Windows 7 won’t be released to the public until October, IU students can access the software now.

Windows 7, the newest upgrade after Windows Vista, was released early at the IU Bookstore on Wednesday, said Sue Workman, associate vice president at the office of the vice president for information technology.

“It won’t be released everywhere until October,” she said. “We actually got it earlier than we expected.”

IU received the program early due to a campus agreement with Microsoft, Workman said.

Every year, IU and Microsoft negotiate a deal about special pricing, she said, which includes upgrades such as Windows 7.

“The $20 version here would be about $210 somewhere else,” freshman Dru Sappington said. “It’s quite a discount.”

IU paid for a contract to make new programs as cheap as they are, Workman said. While other programs such as Microsoft Office are free, she said, operating systems are more complicated and need to be put on a media disk.

“Its safer on a media and the better way to do it,” she said.

Windows 7 is an improvement over Windows Vista, said Greg Moore, senior communication specialist for the University Information Technology Services, because older versions do not have as many features.

“An advantage for students is the version they get is tricked out with everything. It has a new, more appealing look,” he said. “But the real advantages are under the surface.”

Windows 7 has more security and is much more stable than previous upgrades, Moore said. It also uses libraries instead of folders, he said, making it easier to find documents faster.

“I have a released trial version of it,” Sappington said. “It’s a lot faster and more clear than Vista. It only took me a day to learn.”

With the early release, students can get a feel for the upgrade earlier, Sappington said. Students can test the program and play around with it before using it in classes, he said.

The inexpensive availability of Windows 7 on campus is a great value for students, Workman said, because it gives them access to the latest operating system, which they may not have somewhere else.

UITS informed students of the release Wednesday in their e-mail newsletter, Moore said, and saw people buying it right away.

“There’s been a lot of buzz about it,” Moore said. “They just did a great job with it.”