Microsoft most likely is offering this deal to get as many customers switched over to Windows 7 as possible, especially after the widely dreaded Windows Vista. In addition, with Apple selling its latest iteration, Snow Leopard, for just $30, this is a great idea. If you don’t know if your machine supports Windows 7, try running Upgrade Advisor, which will check your system configuration and hopefully give you some good news. To get your copy for $30, just click on the links below!

Links: Win741.com | Windows 7 Student Discount

And that’s not all, if your field of study is any type of technical or engineering majors, you’re eligible for an even better deal. If you sign up with IEEE for a $30 membership, which will last for the rest of the year, you will have access to tons of Microsoft software including Windows 7 Professional x64. (That’s the full edition! Not upgrade version from the deal above.) Signing up as a student using your school’s ‘.edu’ email address and selecting your school from the selector. After about a week, you’ll get an email from MSDNAA giving you a username and password to access and download Windows 7.

Links: IEEE.org Register [via SlickDeals]

Both deals are independent of each other. I’ve personally tried the 2nd option, the IEEE discount, as a student at UC Davis and it worked perfectly. I’ve also purchased Office 2007 through the Ultimate Steal and it worked perfectly. I haven’t had a reason to try the Win741 deal since I already am running Windows 7, but Microsoft officially tweeted about it, so it should be completely safe.

Update 10.05.09: Some of you had emailed in notifying us that Windows 7 was removed from the IEEE MSDNAA list. I took a look into it and it was indeed removed. I decided to shoot an email to IEEE, and here’s there official response:

Microsoft has removed Windows 7 temporarily from this benefit. Management are currently having discussions on the direction they will take with this offer. We regret the inconvenience and will let you know Microsoft’s decision on restoring Windows 7 in this offer for students pursuing technical studies. – Denise Christian, Senior Customer Service Representative, IEEE Computer Society

So at this time, there is no information as to whether it will be put back up anytime soon. For now you folks will have to stick to getting Windows 7 home Premium through the Win711 offer.

Tactical Tailor is a company that truly knows what “tough” is. Founded by a US Army scout sniper, Tactical Tailor has the expertese and experience in what a tough pack requires. Tactical Tailor’s Enhanced Day Pack exhibits this knowledge throughout from the materials used for construction, a “KISS” attitude, and the inclusion of almost everything you need, without everything you don’t.
Constructed of mil-spec 1000D Cordura no other pack in our lineup contained such a rugged material. Cordura is a type of nylon developed by the DuPont company. The Cordura brand is now owned by Invista. Cordura is 3x more durable than normal polyester and 2x as durable as normal nylon. Both inside and out the Enhanced Day Pack is made of this almost bomb proof material. All zippers on the Tactical Tailor Enhanced Day Pack are genuine YKK and pull smoothly. There aren’t any flanges near the zippers to get caught making it very hassle-free. On the shoulder straps a nice amount of 1/2″ thick foam is spread throughout. Along your back is 3/8″ thickness foam in a 1000D Cordura enclosure. This pack doesn’t have a true internal frame-sheet per say, but the sturdy foam in the backing keeps the pack’s shape nicely and is a suitable substitute.

At first glance the Tactical Tailor Enhanced Day Pack really doesn’t look very intuitive. It appears rather simple, bland, and boring. Using the pack however you’ll discover that this pack was designed by pure geniuses whose apparent goal was to make a very functional pack while keeping it simple. Located closest to the wearer on the side of the pack is a long zipper. Unzipping this reveals a side opening laptop compartment. While not very conventional, this design turns out to be a most splendid idea. The ease of removing or storing your laptop is increased as well as the speed. If you travel by air a lot, this side opening option is a godsend making taking out your laptop for screening much quicker and easier. As grand as this laptop compartment is, it does have a downfall. Users with 17″ notebooks have been sadly left out. The max this pocket will hold is a 15″. The next pocket down is the main compartment. This pocket is generous in size and will easily accommodate your textbooks and binders. No surprises there. The next pocket down is the organizational pocket. The size of this pocket is very roomy as well. You shouldn’t have any problem stashing another notebook or binder in there either. Located inside is a very sturdy key clip as well as a functional organizer. Past this pocket are two more standard pockets. One’s fairly tall should you have a smaller sized notebook and the farthest one acts a quick accessory pocket. On the sides of this pack is a water bottle pocket and an external organizer. While some may prefer an extra pocket to the external organizer, I’ve found the external organizer to be one of the finest features on this pack. Should you need a pen or pencil it’s very easily accessible. Initially you won’t think this feature as very grand, but soon you’ll begin to wonder why all of your packs don’t have an external organizer. The opposite side water bottle compartment folds out to reveal a mesh with shock cord retention. This will expand to fit large nalgene bottles. You can also choose to store small camera in this pocket and zip it back up. The carry handle on this pack is very beefy and is reinforced on the inside. A welcome addition to this pack is the inclusion of double stitching. This significantly reinforces the pack and adds to the peace of mind. Out of this tank of a pack, the only complaint I had were the zipper pulls. When I first received the box this backpack was in I heard a good amount of metal clanking. At first I thought, “Oooh, Tactical Tailor must’ve sent me some extra goodies!” That turned out to be sadly untrue, and it was the large metal zipper pulls clanking against the zippers. While this is an annoyance, it’s nothing a little wrapping of 100mph/duct tape can’t fix. On the front exterior of the pack is a large hook and loop panel for fun patches or ID.

However simple and plain looking the Tactical Tailor Enhanced Day Pack may seem, it definitely doesn’t sacrifice comfort. While there aren’t any specially engineered, space-age, rocket-science ergonomic designs built into the back, the Enhanced Day Pack was a leader for men and women in this lineup for comfort. The nice wide shoulder straps distributed the weight well in conjunction with the padded back. There is hardly any ventilation for your back, leading to some sweaty moments, but the comfort is supreme. I would rate the Enhanced Day Pack a hair short of first place for light loads comfort, but with a strong lead in first with heavy loads.

Pros:

• 1000D Cordura construction
• 3/8″ closed cell foam padding all around laptop
• Side opening laptop compartment
• Made in USA
• Comfortable with light or heavy loads
• External organizer
• Heavy Duty drag handle
• Velcro panel
• Stands up on own
• YKK zippers

Cons:

• Loud zipper pulls
• No back ventilation
• No frame sheet
• 17″ laptop incompatible

Price: $97.75
Links: TacticalTailor.com (Product Page)

RELATED: Day Pack Reviews: The Roundup

The North Face Recon is a very sleek and functional urban pack. It is a frequent sight at college campuses everywhere and should just about have it’s own plug in the campus tours as well. Coming in at 19 different colors/combos the Recon holds the most variance of styles and is guaranteed to offer a style for everyone. While not a large pack (main compartment 1520 cu in, secondary compartment 330 cu in), the North Face Recon offers sufficient space for the majority of people out there.

The North Face Recon is constructed out of 420D Nylon (main body) and 1680D Nylon (bottom). 420D Nylon works fine strength-wise, but won’t hold up to rugged or harsh conditions. Luckily, this pack takes most of its beating on the bottom where the beefy 1680D construction should ensure a long-lasting bottom portion of this pack. Looking over this pack the stitching is fine, although no hints of double-stitching can be found anywhere. It’ll hold it’s own, but don’t count on being able to push it to the max. Since this pack is made of all nylon it is decently water-resistant and you can safely put this pack under a faucet for a minute without worrying about your belongings getting all soggy. This water-resistance also makes cleaning the outside much easier. All the zippers on this pack are tried and true YKK built to last. The Northface Recon is made in Vietnam, but was one of the better made non-USA made packs.

The pouch layout of the Recon is fairly standard. Peeking into the main compartment of the Recon you’ll notice a very conventional, and not the most safe/secure, laptop holding sub-pouch. It’s comforting to see a 1″ nylon fastex top fastener for your laptop. I much prefer this to a simple hook and loop fastener featured in one of the other packs. The laptop compartment can accomodate a 17″ laptop, although it will be a tight squeeze. As a general rule of thumb, all laptop compartments double as a hydration bladder compartment and the Recon functions just as well with a hydration bladder in the laptop compartment as a laptop. Moving around the pack some more are your standard assortment of pouches. An organizer pouch, snack pouch, ect. One interesting thing on this pack are the dual water-bottle pouches on the outside. I suppose North Face caters to both right and left-handers by placing a water bottle pouch on each side, although they might just be advocating their customers have extra water. It may have been more useful to replace one of those pouches with a zippable pouch that can double as another accessory pocket (to hold your laptop charger perhaps?) as well as a water bottle holder. I can’t say I found much use for the external cargo net on the front of the pack, although many people use it to stuff a spare piece of clothing. It’s convenient for quickly stowing larger objects, or dirtier ones that you wouldn’t want to gunk up the insides with. On the right shoulder strap is a handy compression pouch. It’s perfect for your cellphone or keys. Located above that is a cable/wire/hydration hose router which is always a nice touch. A very useful feature on the bottom of the Recon are some compression straps. They allow the user to adjust how far out they want the bottom of the pack to be able to go. This sets up the pack so that it doesn’t slouch as easily or fall over all the time. A very welcomed feature on the Recon is the rigid internal frame sheet in the back. This adds to the comfort of the pack and helps it maintain it’s shape while under load.

For both men and women comfort with the North Face Recon stands at the pinnacle. With a standard load none of the other packs came close to the Recon in the comfort department. Although the shoulder straps are fairly thin, their width spread the load very well. To supplement heavier loads a sternum strap and concealable waist strap are included. These show their worth with heavier loads (such as a few large textbooks along with your laptop), although still couldn’t make the Recon retain its spot as king in the comfort department with heavier loads.

Pros:

• Cargo net
• YKK zippers
• Depth adjuster
• Laptop top keeper
• Internal frame sheet
• Sternum strap
• Tuck away waist strap
• Dual water bottle pockets
• Shoulder strap routers
• Zipper pulls
• GREAT with light loads
• 17″ laptop ok (bit tight)
• 1680D Ballistic Nylon (bottom)

Cons:

• 420D Nylon construction
• Not much laptop padding
• Single stitched
• Small holder on shoulder strap

MSRP: $79
Buy Now: North Face Recon for $69 (no tax + ships free)
Links: TheNorthFace.com (Product Page)

RELATED: Day Pack Reviews: The Roundup

About three days ago, Microsoft announced a very unusual deal for students on Office 2007. Starting on September 20th, Any student with a valid “.edu” e-mail address will have the opportunity to purchase Office Ultimate 2007 for just $60. Offer ends in April 2008. For those of you thinking this is probably just another cut down version such as Home & Student Edition ($100), which has only the basic for processing, spreadsheet, and presentation applications, WRONG! The downloadable Office Ulitmate 2007 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Publisher, OneNote, Groove, and InfoPath! Although you probably won’t be using half those applications, we recommend going with this offer.

If you wish to grab this offer it’s available on TheUlimateSteal.com. As for those of you who wish to use an alternative to avoid even the $60, we would recommend OpenOffice which includes just about all the programs you would ever need and is completely open source, therefore free.

P.S. Don’t try lying to get this offer since Microsoft will charge the full $679 price if your student enrollment fails to validate!

Links: TheUtlimateSteal | Compare Office 2007 Editions