This blog post about Microsoft back to school deals was written by Kristina Libby, a writer for the Windows Experience Blog.

It’s August 1st and that means one thing: we all have to start thinking about school. Whether you are gearing up for school, sending kids off to school, or just plain happy that you are out of school, it doesn’t stop the fact that the school season is upon us.  For those of you already in the throes of back to school shopping you know that it can be expensive and confusing! Luckily, Windows and Office have a few great back to school offers for students this year and this blog post has tips that will help to put you ahead of the curve.

  • Buy a PC over $699 and Get an Xbox 360: Great deal for students! This year when registered students buy a PC over $699 at any of our participating retailers (on select PCs) they’ll walk out with a free Xbox. Find out more about the deal here and take a moment to watch this video of a Halo Spartan on a Campus Tour.

  • Buy A PC and get $20 off Office: Office is pretty much a necessity these days. Buy Office 2010 (and maybe a new PC) to help make school work great. Don’t miss out on the chance to save $20 when you buy the software with a new PC. You’ll see this deal at participating retailers, as well. And you don’t need to be a registered student to cash in! If you’re not in the market for a new PC, learn more about other Office 2010 Back-to-School offers.

Once you’ve purchased your PC with either of the offers above, you’ll want to spend a bit of time getting yourself oriented with a few cool tools. Here are my top five must-have tips for going back to school this year.

  1. Get quicker access to all of your stuff by pinning your favorite apps to your Windows Taskbar and right-clicking on them to get Jump Lists for quick access to your files and other features.
  2. Build your research and presentations faster and easier using Snap to have 2 side-by-side screens that you can easily share information between.
  3. Share files (documents, photos, music) and printers among multiple PCs- from one Windows 7-based PC to another through HomeGroup.
  4. Take notes, write a paper, or put together an awesome presentation all with Office 2010.
  5. Easily create and share movies and post them on YouTube or Facebook with ease.

For parents interested in purchasing a new PC for your student, take a moment to read this blog post by guest writer Chris Dawson. He discusses RAM, processors, and more but my favorite tool is PC Scout.  Did you know that PC Scout will help to guide you along the way as you look for a new PC?  It can sort by price, type, weight and size so that you’ll get the exact Windows 7 PC you were looking for in the first place.

This year as school hovers on the horizon do the smart thing. Get a great PC with a steal of an offer; learn the tips and tricks and show up more prepared than ever. In the end, success is based on having the right tools at the right time.

--Kristina Libby

Today's blog post was written by Kristina Libby, a writer from the Windows Blog.