Big news for Office testers as Mary Jo Foley is reporting Beta 2 of Microsoft Office 10 has been released to a small group, with a full launch expected shortly. In addition, News.com is stating the second beta will be shipped early, arriving this week instead of its later mid-November schedule. BetaNews has learned the hosted sites, where testers can store documents online, have been upgraded to Beta 2. Office 10 beta coordinators announced today that "No, we haven't shipped the Beta 2 kits yet, but we're close. When the kits are shipped, you'll receive an e-mail letting you know that 'Beta 2 has left the building'."

This release will feature several more of the Web storage functions incorporated into Office as part of the .NET platform. These include the Tahoe document manager, pieces of Exchange 2000, and added security features for Outlook. The final version of Office is expected to ship in mid-2001.

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Live From IW2000: BetaNews reported last week that GlobalSCAPE, makers of the popular CuteFTP, and other "Cute" programs, would be demonstrating several new products at Internet World this fall. After sitting down with them for a little chat and watching the demonstration, we can definitely say that these new products are something to watch for. GS is moving in the right direction, and making it easier and easier for users to do the things they've always wanted to do.

All at once they were able to show us the power of CuteFTP Pro, CuteFTP Server, and CuteWeb Server. The power of these programs just entering their beta stage show great promise.

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Progenic Security has released a new tool which takes advantage of a bug in the ICQ file transfer protocol, posing a serious security risk to millions of ICQ users. A well-known flaw in the way ICQ displays incoming file transfers allows a user to hide a file extension by adding numerous spaces in the filename. However, with a new tool released today, a user may physically fool ICQ into displaying a different filename completely. Thus, you can send somebody what looks like a text file, but instead is an executable. Progenic hopes this announcement will spur AOL into upping the security of its chat client, and has refused to post details on how this exploit can be taken even further to cause more damage. For more information and to download the tool, visit Progenic.com.

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The Washington Post has written up an interesting piece about the recent advent of beta software into the mainstream. "What's odd is not that so much unfinished software is floating around out there. What's odd is that we know about it," reads the front of today's business section. The article goes on to discuss how the past two years have been a "coming out" period for many developers looking to test their software. Problems associated with pre-release software were also raised, specifically mentioning the recent MSN Explorer. It's a great read and even includes a quote from BetaNews, so be sure to check it out.

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The Mozilla crew has released Milestone 18 of the open source browser, of which Netscape 6 is based. Most notable in this release is working Java under Linux. Recent nightly builds of Mozilla have been increasingly stable and worth trying out, even if Netscape has soured your taste for anything other than IE. Download the latest for Windows or Linux, give it a spin and of course, submit the bugs.

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In a devastating blow to the digital music scene, Scour, Inc., known for its MP3 search and Scour Exchange software, has filed for Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. According to a press release issued today, "Scour filed its voluntary Chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles. The filing automatically stays all pending litigation against the Company." The move comes after the company laid off 52 employees last month.

Scour President Dan Rodrigues has said the move was made to keep the company alive despite high-profile lawsuits that have scared away investors. A company restructuring will take place to evaluate the best possible to route to ensure Scour's success.

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Microsoft today informed testers that Release Candidate 0 of DirectX 8.0 has been posted for download. DirectX 8.0 will feature a new graphical input device control panel in DirectInput along with a multitude of other enhancements to its rendering capabilities. Microsoft also added in the e-mail, "Please continue to check BetaPlace next week as we will be adding downloads for DirectMusic Producer and localized DirectX 8.0 runtimes." DirectX 8.0 was originally slated for release this summer, however delays have continued to push that date back. More information as it comes in.

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Microsoft sent out a Beta 1 Refesh build of Office 10 to testers today, containing mostly bug fixes for Outlook. A Microsoft Beta Support Lead wrote to testers, "It has been distributed primarily to sites that are doing a lot
of testing in Outlook." Office 10 Beta contains many new features, along with a slightly tweaked interface to match that of Whistler. Testers also received a Web site to test some .NET features of the suite, integrating Office very closely to the Web. According to the Support Lead, "Everyone will be getting Beta 2 in mid-October."

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The New York Times held a roundtable discussion last week to cover the issues surrounding Napster and file-sharing in general. Particpants included Hilary Rosen, attorney David Boies, Senator Orrin Hatch, filmmaker Kevin Smith, Gnutella developer Gene Kan, Esther Dyson, and eFront's own Craig Newell. The discussion covered everything from different ways to swap files, to business models that could take advantage of such practices. Read the article (free reg req.) and chime in below with your opinions on the matter. Let Craig know your take on theft and freedom on the Web and we will send your responses to the NYTimes.

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Corel has opened beta testing for WordPerfect Suite 10, featuring CorelCENTRAL, WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, Corel Presentations, Paradox and other applications. Corel writes, "In particular, we are interested in recruiting individuals who have accessibility issues (to help us accommodate the needs of disabled users), as well as those individuals with experience using Visual Basic for Applications and/or PerfectScript with any of our applications. Power Users who use the applications to their fullest extent are also encouraged to apply." If you are interested in testing this upcoming suite, apply at Corel.com.

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Microsoft has listened to testers complaints about installing BackOffice 2000 Beta 1 across 7 CDs and has re-shipped the beta on a single DVD. Although the DVD is not bootable, installation is much faster according to testers and can be used via network drive. BackOffice Server 2000 contains the latest operating system and server applications in a single suite, which also offers services not available anywhere else, such as Shared Modem Service and Shared Fax Service, the Internet Connection Wizard, and HealthMonitor 2.1. Whether or not Microsoft will ship the final release of BackOffice 2000 on DVD remains to be seen, however with applications continually growing in size, DVD may be the future retail choice. Currently, MSDN customers can request software be shipped on DVD. BackOffice 2000 is expected to hit RTM in the coming months, however beta coordinators refuse to speculate on an exact date. For more information on BO2K, visit Microsoft.

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First debuted to the press at the end of July, "Tahoe" will be unveiled to developers in full at next month's Exchange Solutions Conference in Dallas. Tahoe is, in simplest terms, Microsoft's new document management server. Tahoe was initially discussed over a year ago and detailed to beta testers this summer only as an "exciting, unannounced Microsoft technology." Currently Beta 1, Tahoe testers are working to squash almost 150 bugs as of the last summary update. Beta coordinators also reported in the update, "even with the initial Beta1 feedback quieting down, we are still receiving daily postings in the newsgroups."

Tahoe has been designed to bring together document management, advanced search services, and an out-of-the-box intranet portal based on Exchange 2000. Microsoft told BetaNews, "It enables groups, from small teams to large organizations, to manage the creation of new content as well as organize existing content. Tahoe integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Office and the Windows Explorer, and exposes a web-based portal built on the Digital Dashboard framework. In addition, Tahoe delivers an easy-to-deploy, standalone version of the Web Storage System for collaboration solutions, and supports applications built using Office Designer."

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ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley is reporting that Microsoft has set delivery timetables for its next version of Windows, codenamed Whistler. According to insiders, Beta 1 is set for October 11, with Beta 2 to follow on December 6. The timetables also plan for an RTM on April 18, leaving a great deal of time to ship the OS for the back-to-school season. Obviously these dates are extremely tenative and will continually shift, however it demonstrates a very quick development cycle, one lacking a third beta phase. Do you think the software giant will make it? If not, how far off will Whistler be?

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To coincide with the retail release of the OS, Microsoft has decided to treat Windows Me testers to yet another beta. Increasing the Whistler beta pool once again, all Windows Me testers were notifed by e-mail to register to for the upcoming beta, slated for an October start. This marks one of the software giant's largest beta tests, as both consumer and business Windows testers have been merged into one. Build 2257 was sent to developers and MVPs last month, showcasing some of Whistler's new features. Check back for more news on Whistler as Beta 1 nears.

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Beta Test Services sends word of another exclusive beta test for BetaNews visitors. This is an excellent opportunity for people interested in consumer level products. This product is designed for families and small business. Applicants must have two phone lines, experience with telephone devices, access to e-mail, live in the US or Canada, and be willing to report daily progress. Households or businesses with three or more people are preferred, all of those needing use of the phone and voice mail. If you meet these requirements and are interested in testing the latest technologies, visit Beta Test Services.

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