DreamSpark – Glenn Berry's SQL Server Performance

Microsoft DreamSpark Program

Glenn Berry — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 20:40:04 +0000

Back in 2008, Microsoft rolled out the DreamSpark program as a means to get Microsoft software design and development tools in the hands of students at no charge. It was initially only for university or college students, but it has been expanded to also cover high school students. Basically, this means that any high school, college student, or faculty member (in most major countries) can download copies of many Microsoft operating systems, servers, and development tools for free. If you fall into one of those categories, it is pretty easy to get signed up and verified into the program, so you can get your hands on the software for free.

Some of the most valuable items are Visual Studio 2010 Professional, Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard, and SQL Server 2008 R2 Developer Edition. The Microsoft DreamSpark site has more details about the program.

Microsoft DreamSpark for Students

Glenn Berry — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 18:00:45 +0000

If you, or anyone you know, is a high school or college student, Microsoft has a great program called DreamSpark that you should be aware of. This program is designed to give students lots of free Microsoft software, training and other resources.

This includes things like Visual Studio 2010 Professional, Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard, SQL Server 2008 R2 Developer, Expression Studio 4 Ultimate, and many others.

Of course, Microsoft is not doing this purely out of the goodness of their hearts. They want more people to know their tools and technology, so that they become unpaid evangelists in the future. Regardless of their motives, you should take advantage of the program if you are a student.

DreamSpark has been around for several years, and Microsoft keeps adding more benefits, yet many people still don’t know that it is available. Spread the word to your friends and family!

Microsoft DreamSpark for Students

Glenn Berry — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:49:36 +0000

If you are a college or high school student, you can get a very valuable assortment of free software from the Microsoft DreamSpark program. As Microsoft says on the web site:

DreamSpark is simple:

It’s about giving students Microsoft professional tools at no charge

You can get things like Visual Studio 2010 Professional, SQL Server 2008 Developer Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition, Expression Studio 4 Ultimate, and Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 R3.

There are also links to a wealth of training resources, such as training videos, virtual labs, and the I.T. Academy Student Pass. You basically have to verify that you are an enrolled student, and then you will get access to download the software.

It is a very nice program that can save you a lot of money, whether you are a student, or the parent of a student (who would otherwise have to pay for their software).