Academics Can "Test Drive" Microsoft SW

Through Microsoft's new Academic Technology Advantage (ATA) program, higher education customers can "test drive" their software solutions in their own campus network settings, and receive academic-priced technical support and certified training.

For an estimated U.S. retail price of $199, customers can evaluate for 120 days 11 leading Microsoft products: Windows 95, Office Professional, Windows NT Workstation 4.0, Windows NT Server 4.0, Internet Information Server, FrontPage, SQL Server, System Management Server, SNA Server, Exchange Server and Visual Basic Enterprise.

Included are two free comprehensive phone support incidents. Microsoft has partnered with Hewlett Packard to provide additional academic-priced technical support on a per-incident or unlimited basis. For example, 10 support incidents covering Windows NT, LAN, BackOffice applications and client connectivity would cost $799, a savings of nearly $700 (before March 31, 1997).

The ATA kit also contains three vouchers for BackOffice-certified training courses, redeemable from Productivity Point International, the largest network of Microsoft Authorized Technical Education Centers in North America. With the voucher, five days of BackOffice training is $900 instead of $2,000.

Academic Technology Advantage is available exclusively through local Microsoft Solution Providers for Education. For a list of participants, visit www.microsoft.com/education/hed/ata. The ATA offer expires June 30, 1997. Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, (800) 363-2899.  

Featured

  • tool icons with variety of business icons

    SETDA Releases Free EdTech Quality Action Toolkit

    The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) has put together a free K-12 EdTech Quality Action Toolkit that provides a framework for evaluating education technology products as well as guidance on regulatory compliance, templates for communicating with vendors, training resources, and more.

  • woman working with computer laptop with polygonal brain shape of an artificial intelligence and various icons

    13 School and District Teams to Participate in Rural AI Strategy Lab

    K-12 education nonprofit FullScale, in partnership with nonprofit advocacy organization All4Ed, is bringing together 13 school and district teams to collaboratively investigate how AI can thoughtfully be integrated into teaching and learning.

  • children sitting on white chairs, holding up colorful speech bubbles

    Why Title III Is Lacking in Today's Multilingual, Technology-Enhanced Classrooms

    When Congress strengthened Title III in the early 2000s, the focus was helping students acquire English and access academic content. That goal remains important, but the classrooms of 2026 look very different from those of 2001.

  • abstract colored blocks

    OpenAI Letting Go of Sora Short-Form AI Video Platform

    OpenAI is reportedly getting rid of Sora, its generative AI model that creates short video clips from text prompts, images, or existing video inputs. The move upends the company's December partnership with The Walt Disney Company.