DreamSpark is a program set up by Microsoft to provide students with software design and development tools at no charge. The program was originally directed at college students, but now it has been expanded to include high school students. The DreamSpark program was announced by Bill Gates on February 19, 2008 during a speech at Stanford University. A video interview with Bill Gates is also available. It is estimated that up to 35 million students will be able to access these software titles free of charge through this program.
Several development software titles are available for download through the program. They include :
* Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition
* Expression Studio 2 (includes Web, Blend, Media and Design)
* Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition
* Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Developer Edition
* Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition, with SP2
* Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition
* XNA Game Studio