14 DAY TRIAL // Users that have followed Windows 7 closely this holiday season know that Windows 7 discounts have been in short supply, with the company offering nothing more on top of the special deals related to the launch of the operating system. Still, there are ways in which customers can still access Windows 7 at a considerable discount compared to the retail prices. IT professionals, but not only, can take advantage of the TechNet Plus subscription which is available for $349. While $349 is indeed more expensive than even the high-end edition of Windows, while only being available for just one year, the TechNet Plus subscription offers access to all Windows 7 SKUs, and to additional software from Microsoft.
In addition, for a few more days, customers in the US can take advantage of a discount code provided by Microsoft in order to shave off no less than 28% from the full price of a the TechNet Plus subscription. However, those interested will need to hurry, as the special offering only lasts until the end of this year, which is just around the corner. The only downside to the software received through the TechNet Plus subscription is that usage is limited to testing, evaluation and training scenarios, with no deployments in productions environments.
“You have through December 31, 2009, to save 28% on a new TechNet Plus subscription,” revealed Kevin Remde, Microsoft IT Pro evangelist, reminding users that the discount was initially only 25%. “And the folks at TechNet decided that for the remainder of the year they’d drop the price even further for you. The discount code to use is TMSAM08 (that’s zero-8, not the letter “O”.”
Via the TechNet Plus Direct subscription customers will get access not only to full-version evaluation software such as Windows 7, but also to Beta releases including Office 14 for example, but also additional resources such as Technical Information Library, Professional Support Incidents, Managed newsgroups, Online concierge Chat and Technical training content.
All the software is “downloadable (or delivered, if you subscribe to the disks-delivered-to-you-monthly subscription), full-version software licensed for evaluation purposes; which includes Microsoft operating systems, servers, and Office System software; all the software that IT Pros care about,” Remde informed. “Yes, these are for evaluation, testing, and training only; but they don't time-out. You can install these into a training lab, test lab, or use Virtual PC, Virtual Server, Hyper-V, or even your own downloaded evaluation copy of the latest beta or CTP or Release Candidate software! Use it to build a virtually networked playground, and play with (er.. “evaluate”, if your boss is watching) all the latest and greatest tools and technologies.”
Microsoft Windows 7 90-Day Eval VHD is available for download here.
Another Windows 7 RTM Enterprise 90-Day Evaluation is available for download here.
Windows 7 RTM Starter Edition, 100-Screenshot Gallery
Windows 7 RTM Home Basic 110-Screenshot Gallery
Windows 7 RTM Home Premium 120-Screenshot Gallery
Windows 7 RTM Professional 110-Screenshot Gallery
Windows 7 RTM Enterprise 100-Screenshot Gallery