It seems that the success of the Windows 7 Beta has led Microsoft to believe that this is the perfect way to go forward with all new major software releases. We, for one, won’t be complaining as the company has just rolled out a free download of the beta version of Microsoft Office 2010 Professional.
The suite includes Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, Access, InfoPath, Sharepoint Workspace, Communicator and Publisher. Microsoft also recommends that users uninstall any previous version of Office they have running, and not to use this beta version as a office suite on their primary personal or office PC.
Here are the minimum requirements for the software:
– 500 MHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor or higher
– 256 MB of system memory or more
– 3 GB of available disk space
– 1024×768 or higher resolution monitor
– DVD-R/W Drive
– Windows XP with Service Pack (SP) 3 (32-bit)
– Windows Vista with SP1 (32-bit or 64-bit)
– Windows Server 2003 R2 (32-bit or 64-bit)
– Windows Server 2008 with SP2 (32-bit or 64-bit)
– Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit)
Those interested in getting an early look at the upcoming office suite can head over to the official download page now. Do note that users will require a Windows Live account, and there’s a form to be filled out as well.
Following that, you will be given a key to activate the software, and can choose whether you want to install the 32-bit or 64-bit version of the program. The 684MB installer will start downloading in your browser itself through a special Microsoft download package.
To learn more about Microsoft Office 2010, you can check out our previous coverage of it here and here.
UPDATE: It seems that the overloaded servers on Microsoft are timing out a lot of the downloads. If you have a download manager, here are the direct links to grab your beta: