Some say everything has a price. Computer science majors and graduate students discovered this is not always true when their department presented them with free Microsoft Visual Studio software packages, which retail for $1,000 each.
The software was originally going to be available for students to download from a server, according to computer science major Dev Tandon '00, former campus representative for Microsoft. However, the high interest shown by the department's 118 undergraduates led Microsoft to hand out 100 packages to students starting last semester.
"There was a bigger demand than we expected," said computer science professor Andrew Appel, who helped supervise the distribution.
The software allows students to work on programming projects using the Microsoft system on their PCs. Also, it helps switch the computer science department computers to Microsoft from Unix-based systems.
"A lot of students wanted to use it for their theses and JPs," Tandon said. Microsoft gave out the product as part of its educational policy, which allows software to be licensed to students for as low as $15 depending on campus size. Princeton students received the package for free, however.
In distributing the software, Microsoft was not concerned with impressing prospective employees, Appel said. Rather, the gesture was meant to encourage use of the company's newer software, according to Microsoft's Website.
"There was enough of a valid educational component and low overhead for the project," Appel said.
Academic necessity
Students in the department said they do not believe they are benefiting unfairly from the free software because it is necessary for their academic work.
"The software is no use to humanity majors. It's not like we were given Microsoft Office," computer science major Daniel Zheng '00 said.
Microsoft's Visual Studio distribution is only one in a series of perks enjoyed by engineering students. Companies like Trilogy and Oracle also give gifts to students at job fairs. T-shirts and pens are commonly distributed, and some companies even hold raffles for Sega DreamCasts, DVD players and software, students said.
The gifts are meant to attract students to attend the fairs, Appel said, adding that the companies are interested in familiarizing students with their products. However, technology students said they do not feel pampered.
"The companies don't give anymore gifts than investment banks and others," computer science major James Simmons '00 said.
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