Windows 8 now available
Windows 8 is now available through the Microsoft Campus Agreement (upgrade license only; for Duke-owned or Duke-dedicated computers only). Visit https://oit.duke.edu/comp-print/software/index.php and browse for Microsoft Windows to download the operating system.
It is highly recommended that you contact your local IT department before upgrading your computer to Windows 8. This is a new operating system, and your installed programs may not work on it. Faculty and staff will still activate using the KMS server as the primary method.
Student Option Distribution
The student option distribution method has changed. Students will no longer activate Windows and Office using the license server, and instead will activate with unique student-option product keys. The software and keys will be distributed both through the onthehub website as free downloads or through the Duke Computer Store on physical media for a small fee.
Once each download is accessed on the site, students will have 30 days to download the software and access the product key. An ‘extended access guarantee’ is offered for students for a fee where onthehub will allow access to the download and key for a period of 2 years instead of 30 days. This is a) not necessary if the product key is written down and the installer is backed up, and b) not guaranteed because access to the site is done through netID. Students whose netIDs have expired because they have left Duke will not be able to access the key even if they pay for the ‘access guarantee’ because of login restrictions.
Office 2007, Office 2010, Office 2011, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, and Windows 8 Professional are offered through the agreement.
As it was before, this is an upgrade-only license for Windows. For Windows 7, students will need to download an image file and follow the instructions to install that way. Windows 8 is distributed in two varieties: Mac and Windows versions. The Mac version is designed to be used with virtualization software. Students will download an image that can be used through VMware Fusion or other software to run Windows 8 in a virtual machine. The Windows version is a small executable that will extract the installation files for Windows 8 and upgrade the current Windows operating system on the computer.
