Now that we have released 2007 Microsoft Office Beta-2, we hope you are starting to download the release and try it out. We realize there were issues with users downloading and activating the beta since we released Beta-2 last week, and we apologize for any inconvenience these issues may have caused you. We appreciate your patience as we corrected these issues, as we know you are anxious to download and begin testing the Beta-2.

In addition, we've made some changes on the public Beta 2 Preview web site. In addition to posting the Readme documentation where users can access it prior to installation, we have also made the Office Online Beta Control available for download so that more users can view the extra content available on http://officebeta.iponet.net. All of this is available from http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/beta/deploy.mspx. We have added a link to this page to the Known Issues, Documentation, and Product Downloads pages on BetaPlace. There is also a link on http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/beta/getthebeta.mspx to ensure it is discoverable by the public beta participants as well.

On Wednesday, May 24, we began sending out a very important e-mail from offcust@microsoft.com to each official beta participant. Titled "Microsoft Office System 2007 Beta: IMPORTANT INFORMATION about your new SharePoint site," this e-mail introduces the hosted SharePoint sites we have created for your use for the rest of the 2007 Microsoft Office beta. This e-mail explains the purpose of the site and provides you the URL for the custom site we have created specifically for you. You will also receive a separate email from ipostsbe@microsoft.com titled "SharePoint Site: http://.spbeta.iponet.net." This e-mail will include your URL and User Name and Password for accessing the SharePoint site. Please check your mailbox for these messages and read them carefully.