The heads-up on this interesting offer: Microsoft has generously decided to give away the beta version of their Office 2007 suite for free. I was able to download the installation packages and get the product keys after a brief online registration (hotmail, passport, .net account, etc. required).

Here is their expected pricing for the final version of the 2007 Microsoft Office System (Full Price/Upgrade Price):

$499/$329 Microsoft Office Professional 2007
$449/$279 Microsoft Office Small Business 2007
$399/$239 Microsoft Office Standard 2007
$149/None Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007

A few things Microsoft points out:

Expiration Date
All 2007 Microsoft Office system Beta 2 software has an expiration date of February 1, 2007. After expiration, 2007 Microsoft Office system Beta 2 will continue to work in a reduced functionality mode that limits your options and operations.

Should I become bold enough to actually install this software, I’ll post again here; but in the mean time, let me know what kind of success you’ve had…Good luck!

P.S. If you’re concerned about their legitimacy I clipped this from their about us page:

The Internet Archive is working to prevent the Internet, a new medium with major historical significance, and other “born-digital” materials from disappearing into the past. Collaborating with institutions including the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian, we are working to preserve a record for generations to come.

[UPDATE 02.24.06]

After re-reading this post & downloading a very highly recommended Jack Johnson concert, I feel that this post warrants some more detailed info on the whole downloading process. You may have noticed that many songs are only available in a format called .shn (Shorten – a lossless format). This won’t play on most portable media players and you’ll need a specific application to even play it on your pc. No worries though, converting the the .shn files into english (.mp3) is a snap:

1. Download this program, mKw Audio Compression Tool (if for some reason you can’t download, let me know and I’ll host it here).
2. Read the install instructions first; it’s fairly simple, but I managed to mess it up on my first go-round.
3. It’s a very lite program and you will simply have to drag and drop the files you wish to convert. Two steps complete the process…first you’ll convert the files to .wav format, then by dragging again you’ll convert to .mp3, and that’s it!

This likely sounds more difficult than it actually is, but the benefits are truly great & it’s well worth the effort. Good luck!