After launching of Windows 7, now Microsoft is unleashing another beta product for testing i.e. Microsoft Office 2010. The Office 2010 beta will feature everything minus the online version, which is currently being tested within Microsoft.

Somewhat surprising for a public beta, the Office 2010 beta offers everything in the office suite so it has Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Outlook and all those other programs most people don’t know how to use like OneNote, Access and Publisher. Office 2010 apps still feature the “ribbon” UI found in Office 2007, but it has been changed somewhat. In terms of entirely new features, Outlook will be able to be linked to social networking sites. Wow! That’s awesome feature. First offered is Windows Live (obviously) and LinkedIn will be added sometime early next year. There is also the aforementioned online version, which will be paired with the new SkyDrive feature to give users 25 GB to store and sync their office documents.

Office 2010 is said to have improved interaction with Windows 7 and its taskbar, which makes sense. That doesn’t mean other users can’t download the beta, it’s free for anyone using Windows XP SP3 and later. With the forthcoming Starter edition which is said to be free for new computers, maybe Microsoft will be able to increase usage of the newest version of Office. Outside of a work environment, or after buying a new PC, users seem to not upgrade their office suite very often. For example, the .docx file format still hasn’t really achieved full support from users, with some just ending up confused.