Microsoft Posts Office 2007 Beta 2 For Download

Microsoft on Tuesday opened up the beta for its next generation of Office, posting links to download the application suite or to order a DVD containing the 2007 bundle.

Previously in limited testing -- participants in those programs only received their product keys Tuesday -- Office 2007 is now available to the general public.

Chairman Bill Gates announced the Office 2007 Beta 2 at WinHEC, the Microsoft hardware developers conference which opened Tuesday in Seattle. At the same time, Microsoft posted notices on its Office 2007 site for those who want to grab a copy.

Users can either download the suite -- which takes the scale at 75MG to 1GB, said Microsoft, depending on the suite components chosen -- or request a DVD from Microsoft. The download is free, but the DVD costs $4.95, plus $2 postage in the U.S.; Microsoft said to expect delivery in 1 to 3 weeks.

Beta 2 also has an expiration date: February 1, 2007. After that, however, the test edition will continue to work in a "reduced functionality mode," Microsoft said.To download Beta 2 or order a DVD, users must register with a Windows Live ID (formerly Passport) username and password.

Microsoft also posted prices for the complete Office 2007 lineup, as well as prices for individual applications, like Word 2007 and Excel 2007. In February, Microsoft outlined the seven versions of the new Office, and priced out some, but not all, of the editions and pieces.

The price list is here on the Office 2007 Web site.