Taking notes is now easier for several MSU students, thanks to Microsoft’s OneNote give away Tuesday.
Representatives from the Microsoft Corporation visited campus to give out free software for the new OneNote computer program.
The representatives were in Butler Hall. They also traveled around campus on Segway scooters giving out free discs and letting students try out Tablet PCs.
The software, Microsoft Office OneNote 2003, is a new program similar to Microsoft Word, but with added tools and options it allows students to take notes, draw diagrams and even record professors’ lectures right from their computers.
“OneNote is the next three-ring binder,” Ben Sterner, a representative for Microsoft, said. “It’s designed for college students and teachers to take notes more efficiently. There is also the recording device that will transfer a speaker’s voice right onto the computer.”
“I think it will help [students] out a lot, especially because of the recording feature,” said Ronnie Holder, a sophomore meteorology major who received a copy of the program Tuesday. “If we miss anything our professors say, it’ll be right there and we will still have the notes we took.”
The software, already on store shelves, costs $50. However, students at Mississippi State were given the full version of the program for no charge.
“We were very excited about coming to Mississippi State,” Sterner said. “It is a great technology school, as well an academic school.”
Representatives handed out 2,000 copies during the promotion, which lasted from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Mississippi State University is not the only college on Microsoft’s list of OneNote recipients. More than 120 colleges throughout the United States will be visited by Microsoft and given the free software, Sterner said.
“I think Microsoft is making a smart move with this new software,” Holder said. “It will make them more popular with students and business people. It will really help students with note taking, organization and it could potentially raise students’ grades.”