Microsoft preps Office 2010 public beta

From InfoWorld: Microsoft may launch the public beta of Office 2010 as early as next week, according to e-mail messages received Tuesday by people who have been testing the company's next application suite.

Last month, CEO Steve Ballmer promised that his company would roll out a beta during November. Microsoft has said it will distribute millions of copies of the Office 2010 public beta.

Microsoft launched an invitation-only Technical Preview of Office 2010 last July, and used its new Click-To-Run technology to deliver that build to testers. Click-To-Run "streams" pieces of the suite to users who begin a download, letting them start using the suite within minutes. While users work with the suite, the remainder of the code is downloaded in the background.

It's unclear whether Microsoft will use Click-To-Run to provide the public beta later this month. The company has said, however, that it would rely on the technology when it ships the final version next year and offers a limited-time trial at the same time.

In an e-mail sent to Technical Preview testers Tuesday, Microsoft announced it had shut off the Click-To-Run downloads and was preparing for the public beta

View: Article @ Source Site