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Windows Secrets Newsletter • Issue 103 • 2007-04-12 • Circulation: over 270,000
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For links to every subtopic in this issue, scroll down to the
Index |
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TOP STORY How to get Windows software at half-price
Even kindergartners qualify for discounted software The good news about educational software discounts is that you usually don't have to be a full-time student to qualify (although you must have some link to education). For example, Academic Superstore offers its discounts to students and parents of students currently attending classes from kindergarten through college, as well as faculty and even janitorial staff of a K-12 or university. For students beyond the K-12 level, many retailers require that a student be enrolled in a degree-granting program, not merely taking a single class or seeking a certificate. Academic Superstore is the only seller I found that specifically mentions parents. But almost all such sellers provide discounts for students as young as kindergarten age. (And how many kindergartners have credit cards?) The fact that parents can purchase for students is merely implied, in most cases. For example, Campus Tech lists among its qualifying documents a parent's ID for students K-12. Most sites selling academic software will accept home-schooled students as well. Some retailers offer discounts for other nonprofit organizations that aren't strictly schools, such as public museums and libraries. These offers apply to most, but not all, discounted software. Some institutions, such as nonaccredited schools, hospitals, and training centers are specifically ruled out, depending on the software publisher. Furthermore, such institutional discounts usually only apply to volume purchases, although "volume" means as few as five copies, in some cases. Generally, stores that give these discounts are following the policies of the software publisher. Microsoft has made its eligibility requirements available on its Web site, as has Adobe. Several retailers offer education-discounted products Many software publishers provide dramatic discounts on their products for educational purposes. These include popular products such as Microsoft Office as well as Adobe Acrobat and others. Discounts on Windows itself are the hardest to come by. Windows XP Professional (with Service Pack 2) and Vista Business Upgrade are available at steep discounts (U.S. $27 and $62.50, respectively, from CCV Software, compared with $299 and $200 list.) But these prices are only granted to academic institutions, not to individuals, via Microsoft's Open License volume sales program. However, individuals with the right credentials can easily get educational discounts for Windows XP Professional Upgrade (with SP2) and Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade. I've found the following academic discounts: • XP Pro SP2 Upgrade: $86 to $117 (compared to $192-239 street) • Vista Home Premium Upgrade: $65 to $90 (compared to $146-167 street) At least one online reseller asks for no documentation at all. A pop-up message at VioSoftware.com says, "We do not require any proof that you will be using academic software for academic use, nor does the manufacturer." Examples: • Office 2007 Pro Academic Full: $200 (compared to $500 list) • Office 2007 Standard Academic Full: $180 (compared to $400 list) At roughly half off list price, VioSoftware is not the cheapest seller of academic software. But it still offers prices well below retail versions. The software sold at these discounts is the same as any you would buy in a retail store. In most cases, you are limited to buying a single copy. And you must meet the documentation requirements. How to document your claims Unlike ordinary retail purchases, buying software using an academic discount usually requires that you document your eligibility. Most sites require that you mail, e-mail, fax, or upload a .gif or .jpg image of the necessary documents. These typically include one or more of the following: student or faculty ID (showing current semester or year), copy of current class schedule, registration receipt, letter of enrollment or employment on letterhead, recent report card, recent pay stub, or recent teaching contract. Many stores keep your documentation on file for a year (or until the dates on the documents expire) for future purchasing. Qualifying documents for home schools and their students may be harder to come by. Letters from state departments of education, local school boards, or school districts recognizing the home school are likely to be accepted. In addition, it may be useful to have receipts of purchases of a home-school curriculum from a nationally recognized provider of these products. Where to shop for academic discounts Using your favorite search engine, you should have no difficulty finding software retailers that offer academic discounts. The ones I've found that have the best prices and selection are, in alphabetical order: Scott Dunn is associate editor of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. He is also a contributing editor of PC World Magazine, where he has written a monthly column since 1992, and co-author of 101 Windows Tips & Tricks (Peachpit) with Jesse Berst and Charles Bermant. |
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LANGALIST TIPS More ways to prevent phantom devices
Reader tips on eliminating phantom devices You folks are great! After every issue, suggestions, and questions flow through our Web-based contact form. (Incidentally, if you send in a tip or trick that we print, you'll receive a $25 gift certificate good for a book, CD, or DVD from Amazon!) This week, I received additional info that amends my discussion on the items "Keep phantom devices at bay" and "Restoring the HotPlug Manager," both of which appeared in the Apr. 5 issue. Several readers (Rick Winterton was the first) suggested that another way to safely remove a USB drive (and thus prevent it from appearing as a left-behind ghost item in the Drives listing) is to right-click a removable drive and select Eject from the context menu. Indeed, this can work, albeit not quite as reliably as the methods we previously discussed. Only some USB drives respond to an Eject command (I have a couple of Flash drives that won't disconnect that way), and most other USB devices simply ignore the command. But, if the normal, officially sanctioned methods aren't available to you, it may be worth trying the Eject option. Reader Larry Hoium also pointed me to a Knowledge Base article I'd never seen before. It's KB 315539, which describes an obscure XP command: set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 That command allows the View/Hidden Devices menu in Device Manager to list not only currently connected hidden devices, but also hidden devices that have been connected to the system at any time. Any ghost devices that are shown can then be uninstalled directly through Device Manager itself.  Figure 1. KB 315539 shows you how to force Device Manager to display hidden devices that once were connected to the system, but that are not currently plugged in. In this example, note the three grayed-out drives, which Device Manager normally would not show at all. Thanks Rick, Larry, and all who wrote in! Keep those e-mails coming! How to get 130+ browser shortcuts free Those of you who've read Brian Livingston's excellent Windows Vista Secrets book have probably noted the references to keyboard shortcuts — those special two- or three-keystroke combinations that let you perform an action or access a software feature much faster than wading through the menus. For example, you almost surely already know that Alt+Tab lets you switch among open windows faster than by accessing the same windows via the Taskbar. But there are probably dozens or even hundreds of other time-saving shortcuts that you may not know about! Brian's Vista book covers everything in Vista, including IE 7, and he lists IE 7 keyboard shortcuts on pages 487-489. If you're using Vista, that's the place to go for the best information. If you're not running Vista, but are using IE 7, then you should take a look at TechRepublic's PDF download 60 keyboard shortcuts to move faster in Microsoft Internet Explorer 7. Note that free registration is required. If you're using Firefox, then 70+ keyboard shortcuts to move faster in Mozilla Firefox will be of interest to you. It's also available for download after free registration. Patch cord saves USB headaches In this and other recent issues, I've discussed some of the software-based problems that can befall USB devices. But it's worth mentioning another, purely physical danger that can totally cripple a USB device: wear and tear on the USB plugs and sockets themselves. I've seen this mostly in Flash drives: Unless they're plugged in to and pulled out of USB sockets with great care, repeated off-angle insertions and removals can stress the plugs and sockets, causing them to flex. In time, the internal electrical connections can break, leaving you with a dead socket. Unless you have the skill and inclination to open the case and do some very delicate soldering, the socket is gone for good. An inexpensive "patch cord" can help. A patch cord is a kind of USB extension cord: a length of cable with a USB plug on one end and a socket on the other. Because the cord is lightweight and flexible, it's much easier to align to the permanently mounted plugs and sockets on your PC and USB devices. Sometimes, you can even leave the patch cord connected to your PC, so all the wear and tear happens on the inexpensive patch cord's socket, rather than the harder-to-replace PC's socket. Almost all electronics retailers sell USB patch cords, and they can cost as little as $2 for the shorter lengths. If you frequently plug in and unplug your USB devices, a patch cord can be cheap insurance! Another way to tune your Internet connection An item on semi-automated Internet connection tuning in the Mar. 15 issue generated a great reader suggestion on a nearly fully automated method. That tip appeared in the Apr. 5 issue. Yet another good suggestion comes from reader Vuong Phung. He recommends an incredibly detailed manual method described in the Navas Cable Modem/DSL Tuning Guide. The benefit of the manual method is that you have complete control over every variable and can fine-tune your connection parameters to whatever degree you wish. It's a more laborious way to tune, but one that gives you the ultimate in flexibility and adaptability. So now, with a full spectrum of free connection-tuning options available — manual, semi-automated, and fully automated — we all should be able to find a solution that delivers the best-possible performance from our Internet connections. Thanks, Vuong! Fred Langa is editor of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. He was editor of Byte Magazine (1987 to 1991) and editorial director of CMP Media (1991 to 1996), overseeing Windows Magazine and others. He edited the LangaList e-mail newsletter from 1997 to 2006, when it merged with Windows Secrets. |
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WACKY WEB WEEK Summertime and the living is tasty
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YOUR SUBSCRIPTION The Windows Secrets Newsletter is published weekly on the 1st through 4th Thursdays of each month, plus occasional news updates. Vacation breaks occur in late August, Thanksgiving Week, and Christmas/New Year's. Publisher: WindowsSecrets.com LLC, 300 Queen Anne Ave. N. #456, Seattle, WA 98109 USA. Vendors, please send no unsolicited packages to this address (readers' letters are fine). Editorial Director: Brian Livingston. Editor: Fred Langa. Associate Editor: Scott Dunn. Contributing Editors: Susan Bradley, Mark Edwards, Woody Leonhard, Chris Mosby, Ryan Russell. Research Director: Vickie Stevens. Program Director: Brent Scheffler. Managing Editor: Jody Braverman. Trademarks: Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. The Windows Secrets series of books is published by Wiley Publishing Inc. The Windows Secrets Newsletter, WindowsSecrets.com, LangaList, LangaList Plus, WinFind, Security Baseline, Patch Watch, Perimeter Scan, Wacky Web Week, the Logo Design (W, S or road, and Star), and the slogan Everything Microsoft Forgot to Mention all are trademarks and service marks of WindowsSecrets.com LLC. All other marks are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: Anyone may subscribe to this newsletter by visiting our free signup page. WE GUARANTEE YOUR PRIVACY: 1. We will never sell, rent, or give away your address to any outside party, ever. 2. We will never send you any unrequested e-mail, besides newsletter updates. 3. All unsubscribe requests are honored immediately, period. Privacy policy HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE: To unsubscribe from the Windows Secrets Newsletter,
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