Office 2010 Technical Preview Shutting Down

Microsoft debuted the first testing phase of the Office 2010 System for users outside of Redmond on July 13th, 2009, and is closing in on the deadline at which it will shut down the Technical Preview program. The past week, I along with additional members of the Office 2010 Technical Preview program received emails informing of the imminent discontinuation of the Technical Preview. Of course that Microsoft will not leave testers and early adopters hanging out to dry, but will provide the next development milestone of the future Office productivity suite release.

“Thank you for continuing to utilize, evaluate and provide feedback on the Microsoft Office 2010 Technical Preview. We wanted to notify you [that] Office 2010 Beta will be available for you to download next month (November 2009).The Beta release of Office 2010 marks the end of the Technical Preview program you currently belong to. We will release the Beta on public download sites, where you can download and install a newer build of Office 2010 client software. At that time, you will also get your first look at the exciting new features we have added to server products such as SharePoint,” reads an excerpt of the email from the Microsoft Office 2010 Team.

At the 2009 SharePoint Conference the software giant revealed that the first Beta development milestone of Office 2010 would be offered to testers sometime in November. The first Office 2010 Beta will be a wide release, opened to the general public. This means that all users interested in getting a taste of what Office 2010 has to offer will be able to download, install and run Office 2010 Beta in November. Microsoft has so far failed to disclose the actual delivery deadline for Office 2010 Beta. The company did however indicate that it planned to wrap up the successor of Office 2007 early next year, and to release the product in spring 2010.

“What this means to you as a Technical Preview Program participant is that the Office 2010 Connect site that you have been using will essentially be shut down and you will be directed to the Beta site (location to be announced) for Beta downloads, product information, links to forums, and more. We will provide you with links to the new Beta site on the current Office 2010 Connect site, but product downloads, articles, product information, and newsgroups currently found there will no longer be available on Connect. In the weeks between now and the release of Beta, you can still access all of the Technical Preview materials on the Office 2010 Connect site,” the Microsoft Office 2010 Team adds in the message.