How big is the download? The 32-bit version weighs in at about 685MB, while the 64-bit version tips the scales at 750MB.
Do I need a product activation key? Yes. To use the Office 2010 beta beyond 30 days, you'll need to activate it with the 25-character key that you'll receive prior to starting the download. That key is valid only for the beta, and can't be used to activate a copy of the final when that launches sometime in the first half of next year.
Hint: Print out the page that shows the key, as Microsoft suggests.
I've been running the Office 2010 Technical Preview. Can I upgrade that to the beta? No, says Microsoft.
In an e-mail sent to Technical Preview testers last week, Microsoft said they must uninstall that version before installing Office 2010 Beta.
We found that out the hard way when the beta repeatedly refused to install on an XP-based test system; it took several trips to the Add/Remove applet to scrub the Technical Preview from the PC, including one to uninstall the virtualization component that the earlier edition added when it was installed with Microsoft's new "Click-To-Run" technology. More on Click-To-Run in a bit.
Can I upgrade my existing copy of Office to the beta? Yes, but you may not want to. When you install Office 2010 Beta, you can choose between and "Upgrade" or "Customize" options. The former upgrades your current version of Office, replacing it with Office 2010.
Down the road, however, when Office 2010 Beta expires, you'll have to reinstall the earlier edition by digging up the installation CD. That's a good reason to nix the upgrade idea.
Instead, you can choose the Customize option, which installs Office 2010 Beta alongside your existing version so you can use both. You'll still need to reinstall one, possibly two, applications from your older edition once you stop using Office 2010 Beta, however.
What will I have to reinstall? Outlook, Office's e-mail application, and SharePoint Workspace, formerly called Office Groove 2007, cannot coexist with previous versions on your computer. Microsoft says that you have to select one version of Outlook and SharePoint Workspace/Groove 2007 to install: You can't run two copies of Outlook on the same PC, in other words.
What if I don't see the Upgrade and Customize options when I install Office 2010 Beta? You sure you're not hallucinating? Or, if you're reading this post-launch, maybe a long time post-launch, that means Microsoft has managed to kick Click-To-Run into gear. When the beta's delivered using that technology, you won't have a choice: By design, Office 2010 Beta will install side-by-side with any existing version.
What's this Click-To-Run you keep talking about? Click-To-Run is a new technology that Microsoft debuted in the Technical Preview that went out to a small group of testers in July. Essentially, it "streams" pieces of the suite as you begin a download, letting you start using the suite within minutes. While you work with the trial, the remainder of the code is downloaded in the background by Click-To-Run.
Microsoft has said it will use Click-To-Run to deliver free trials of Office 2010 when the final bits ship next year, and hinted earlier this month that it would use the technology to offer the beta of Office Home and Business 2010 this week. That didn't happen.
"We're working to make that available as soon as possible," said Numoto, who declined to explain why Click-To-Run wasn't being used immediately.
An interesting facet of Click-To-Run is that it not only speeds up the process of starting to use Office 2010, but also runs the application in a virtualized environment, separating it from the rest of Windows, and thus, other applications.
"This means that [users] have private copies of their files and settings, and that any changes they make are captured in the virtual environment," said the Office 2010 engineering team in a blog post two weeks ago. "The effect is [Click-To-Run applications] don't end up modifying any other software installed on the system. With few exceptions, only user data actually passes through the virtual environment to the local system."