Office 11 Testers Await Beta Kits

Over 6,000 beta testers are eagerly anticipating the first beta of Office 11, which began shipping last week. Although Microsoft announced the release on Tuesday, testers did not receive notice until late Friday in an e-mail from beta coordinators.

"Welcome to the beta release of Office 11 and Office Family products. You can expect your beta kit to be delivered within the next few days," the message read.

The first beta release includes three CDs: Office 11, FrontPage 11 and Publisher 11. The recently announced XDocs application that ties together information from other Office applications using XML-based forms is not included with the beta kits, but Microsoft does plan to ship the product to certain testers. Microsoft XML architect Jean Paoli will be demonstrating Office 11's new XML-based architecture, including XDocs, at a conference on December 11.

"It's about connecting people with all the disparate sources of information in their work environment, with the processes necessary to complete their jobs, and with the other people they rely on to complete projects and make decisions," said Microsoft's vice president of the Information Worker Product Management Group, Joe Eschbach. "In short, it's about making them more productive by removing unnecessary barriers to success."

While shipping time will depend on location, Microsoft expects all beta testers to receive their kits by mid-November. "Thank you for your patience as the beta kits are delivered," reads a notice on Microsoft's BetaPlace Web site.

The final version of Office 11 is slated to hit store shelves mid-2003, with a late-May release likely.

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