SmithWeb Blog

Are you a fan of Microsoft Office? Like free software?

I have great news.

Microsoft has released a beta preview version of Office 2010 which is due out next year. This means that you can download the beta version of Office 2010 Professional for FREE. That’s right. A free office suite from Microsoft. The full suite is all there: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, Access, OneNote, InfoPath, and SharePoint Workspace.

Now before you rush off to download it, there are a few things you may want to note:

1. This office suite is a beta version. This means that it is not final so it could crash often or some features may have problems. The point of beta releases are so that Microsoft can get feedback from the general public about their upcoming software, so if you download it, at least send occasional feedback to let Microsoft know how you like the 2010 version.

2. You will need a Windows Live account to download the software. You can get one HERE.

3. I recently installed the software and I was impressed with the setup procedure. It took about 10-15 minutes to setup, so if it seems like it’s stuck, just give it some time.

4. Follow the steps closely when downloading the software. A page will come up with a product key on it. That product key is very important so that you can activate your beta version. Make sure you print the page or save the page so that you don’t forget your product key. Once you’ve installed the beta, follow the instructions on the product key page to activate your software.

5. Be sure that when working with the software, you save your work often as the beta version of anything is more likely to crash more often. Autorecovery files usually save automatically, but are usually not the complete work so be sure to save often.

One last thing before I present you with the link to download it. I am not sure right now how long this beta version will work. Sometimes when beta or release candidate versions of software are released, the product keys are only valid for a short time. If I discover that the product keys will expire I will be sure to update you on this blog.

I am also not sure how long this download will be available so if you want to give it a try, be sure to act now.

With all that said, I now present you with the link to start the download process for the FREE beta version of Microsoft Office.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/en/default.aspx

Read up about the beta on that site and when you are ready to download, click the link in the top right to begin the process. Happy beta testing!