That’s right. Microsoft is giving away this product absolutely free for those who wish to participate in the beta. Mind you, just because it’s labeled a “beta” doesn’t make it not high qualify software. I assure you that the primary issues have been fixed already before participation for this beta became available. Want to know more information on how to get it? Then read on:

This Microsoft Office Beta includes the following software bundled in: Access, Communicator, Excel, InfoPath, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, SharePoint, Word, and Workspace

It’s very simple to obtain Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010. What you’ll need to do first, click here to load the beta page. You’ll notice a “Get it Now” button in the top right corner. Click it! Now just sign in with a Windows Live account (or register one first) and follow the steps 🙂 Easy peezy! You’ll be required to enter some information, which is to be expected.

When the time comes to download it, you’ll have to choose between the 32-bit version and 64-bit version. The 32-bit version will run on both 64-bit and 32-bit Windows perfectly though so if you don’t know which one is right for you then choose the 32-bit version. The requirements for this piece of software–

Hardware Requirements
• 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

Operating System Requirements
• 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)

Something that is relatively important to mention is that this software does expire. It will stop working October 2010. I haven’t used Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 yet, but I’m thinking of grabbing it myself. If I do, then I’ll write a review about it with screen shots so that all the obvious interface changes become apparent. I’m currently using Microsoft Office Professional 2003 so I’m a bit behind. I wasn’t happy by the version after it. Anyway, enjoy your free beta!

Note: Users of Firefox may have issues downloading this program. This is because of Microsoft’s website and the use of Active-X. If you have difficulty, then you should download the beta through Internet Explorer.