There's word from the TestBed blog that Microsoft has decided to cut prices on Windows Vista, only not in the UK. Apparently this is because they have already been cut here, despite still being higher than in the US.

Still as Clive points out, Office Home and Student Edition is a really good deal, just £80 in PC World for a three computer license. No Outlook but there's plenty of decent alternatives such as Mozilla Thunderbird.

What is worth investigating is One Note, note taking and audio recording software ideal for students.