Free Genuine Windows Vista Business, Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 for educational purposes till August 2008

I just discovered everyone registering for imagine cup 2008 is getting free genuine software from Microsoft that includes Windows Vista Business, Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003 and more.

The software is available for download with Geniune serial numbers. And the hilarious thing is anyone can register for imagine cup for free! So it means eveyone can get this software for free. I cant understand why Microsoft is distrubuting away like this but its true.

Officialy software is for educational purposes only (for those who are participating in imagine cup 2008) adn it will expire when the Round 1 of imagine cup ends (August 2008 expected)

When asked Michael Sean form WGA (Windows Geniune Advantage) Department about this, he said

"it was being discussed internally in the company and that they might soon put some restrictions. He also said tht those liscenses could only be used for the max of 1 yr.. they will expire after that"

Lets see how long it lasts

Link: http://www.imaginecup.com/

Imagine Cup Virtual Party Tonight! 18:00 GMT at Second life

The Imagine Cup Gallery is now live in Second Life is showcasing 21 of the Software Design teams and their applications from Europe, the Middle East and Africa before they head off to Korea to compete in the Worldwide Finals. So why not come along and meet the teams, check out their presentations and videos or even hang out at the Korean bar and pavilion. Plus we’re also giving away some great Xbox 360 consoles and games!

Visit : http://imaginecup.com/Community/forums/t/3663.aspx

The Imagine cup 2007 heat is on! someone is also there from Pakistan!

The most awaited and my favorite event is finally to be held in Korea. Thats Microsoft Imagine Cup 2007 South Korea that will be commenced from August 5-11 2007. 111 teams and 372 finalists from all over the world are expected to travel to Seoul to compete.

This year Pakistan is also participating in the Software development category and the team thats participating is "AVRiL"(That sounds like Avril Lavigne :p), it stands for Automatic Video Recording for Lectures, and this team is from LUMS (Lahore University of Management Sciences). AVRiL are winners of Imagine cup Pakistan 2007, Lets see what they can do at world level.

They say about their project:

"Do you believe that quality education is a privilege of only a few at the top universities? What do you do when you miss classes? Do you value the power of instruction? Do you think distance learning programs are over-priced? What about being able to review only a particular topic right before the exam without having to replay the whole lecture. --- Ever thought of the most effective and ready method to reproduce the classroom experience for the masses? Are you sick of boring static lecture videos? Or do you get distracted when they hire a professional crew instead? ...The aim of the project is to fully automate the video recording of lectures so there is no need to hire special camera men or a direction crew. Due to its extremely low day-to-day costs it finds many applications in the area of video archiving, lecture review, and in distance learning programmes."

Wish you Best of luck AVRiL!

Watch their project promo:


Links:
Microsoft Imagine cup
Team AVRiL on Imagine Cup
AVRiL Homepage