posted
by Anonymous -
Tue, 26/07/2011 - 16:43
As part of the recent updates to the Microsoft Software Donation
Program, Microsoft made donations of full versions of its Windows
operating systems available through the Microsoft Get Genuine program.
Your organization might have PCs with illegal, free, or basic
operating systems — either from accepting donated machines or buying the
computers at bargain-basement prices.
Microsoft’s Get Genuine program offers your organization a one-time
chance to get your existing
computers running fully legitimate and upgradable Windows operating systems,
enabling your organization to easily upgrade through TechSoup when a more
recent OS version is needed or released.
To be eligible for the Get Genuine donations, the existing
computers on which your organization will install the full Windows OS software
must currently have one of the following:
·
Counterfeit, pirated, or
otherwise illegal, unlicensed, or improperly licensed Windows operating systems
·
Home Premium, Home Basic,
or Starter editions of Windows 7 or Windows Vista
·
Home or Starter editions
of Windows XP
·
Linux, FreeDOS, or other
operating systems
·
No operating systems
Special Rules for Get Genuine Product
Requests:
· Eligible organizations may place
only one request ever for Get Genuine products.
· Requests for Get Genuine
products may not contain any other products.
· During check-out, the Get Genuine Windows Agreement for Small
and Medium Organizations must be accepted on behalf of the organization.
Request Get Genuine Products here
Request Carefully —
Get Genuine Windows OS Products Are a One-Time Donation
Microsoft-eligible organizations can request donations of full Get
Genuine Windows operating systems only once, ever, so please make sure
to plan your request carefully. Since the Get Genuine products are part of the
Windows Desktop Operating Systems title group, a request for this product will
count against your two-year cycle allotment of 50 licenses in the Windows
Desktop Operating Systems title group.
Windows Upgrade
Still Available
If your existing PCs already have a qualifying base operating system in
place, you can still request the Windows OS Upgrades donations that TechSoup
has always offered. Since you only have
one chance to request Get Genuine Windows OS products ever, you should
request the standard upgrade products if you have one of the following
qualified, base Operating Systems already in place on your machine:
·
Enterprise, Professional,
or Ultimate editions of Windows 7 or Windows Vista
·
XP Professional version of
Windows XP
·
Windows 2000 Professional
·
Windows NT Workstation 4.0
·
Windows 98 (2nd
Edition)
·
Apple Macintosh
Still Have Questions? Easily
see what you can request from Microsoft: To help you
manage your Microsoft donations, TechSoup has created the Microsoft Donation
Center (accessible from the Donation Request/History page under My Account),
where nonprofits can get all key details in one place. Organizations can easily
track what they’ve received so far, what remains of their software allotment,
when their cycle resets, and the value of Microsoft software donations to date.
Help Us Donate More: Spread the
word!
Many organizations have benefited from software
donations from Microsoft, but there are many more still to reach! Help us
spread the word to our fellow nonprofits. Check out this great video on the
impact of Microsoft software donations and share it with your networks. You can find more on Facebook and follow via
Twitter @mfstcitizenship.
Microsoft donates more than 200 of its products — including Windows 7 Professional and Enterprise Upgrades — to eligible nonprofits through BiGTech. Organizations that join BiGTech, register an organization, and qualify can request and receive donations of Microsoft products and many more products from other BiGTech donor partners.
Windows Vista, Microsoft's first new major operating system (OS) since the launch of the Windows XP line in 2001 was launched in early 2007. Vista's launch has already generated some questions about upgrading, new features, tech support, and indeed whether now is a good time to migrate your computers to this new OS.