JULY 2019 PCWorld 101extremely discounted
copy of Windows
10—and it’s nearly the
equivalent of Windows
10 Enterprise, to boot.
You’ll just have to put in
some legwork (perhaps
literally) to get it.
As mentioned
above, license types
determine what you can
do with Windows—and
who can use it, as well. Through the
Academic Volume Licensing agreements,
schools can purchase access to Windows 10
Education for their students, faculty, and
staff. Some make it available only on campus
machines. Others will grant a license for use
on a home machine.
In that latter camp
are a number of
community colleges,
and they often make
the Windows 10
license free or
supremely affordable
(usually $15). The
catch: You have to
sign up for at least one
course to qualify for
campus discounts.
To get access to
the software, you’ll
typically need to
register for your class first,
then find and register
separately at whatever
online store your campus
uses for software
purchases. (Many
community colleges use
OnTheHub as their
distributor, so you can
use their lookup tool (go.
pcworld.com/lkup) to
begin research about your
school’s options.) The storefront will require
verification of your student status before you
can “buy” Windows 10.
A one-unit class suffices, though, and
depending on your state, it costs as little as
$76 including administrative fees. TypicalFor California’s community colleges, CollegeBuys (go.pcworld.com/clby)
is the vendor through which you’ll “buy” Windows 10. Other states use
OnTheHub (go.pcworld.com/othb), which has a tool to look up your school.