The Beta bits of Office 2010 Beta along with Office Web Applications are now up on MSDN and TechNet Plus. TechNet Plus and MSDN subscribers can now download and evaluate Office 2010 Beta before the official public availability on November 18th. The most significant change in this Beta Build from the Technical Preview is the new installation procedure for test versions of Office 2010 SKUs, Upload Center, modified version of Backstage view and new refreshed icons for all Office products. Office 2010 Beta is available in both 32 and 64-bit flavors.

A new Build 14.0.4514.1009 from Microsoft Office 2010 Beta branch has been leaked in the wild, and is now available for download. The most significant change in this leaked build is the new installation procedure for test versions of Office 2010 SKUs. Previously, setup used to ask for product keys after it has been initiated, but now, starting from Build 14.0.4514.1009, Office 2010 will ask you for a special unique installation product key before setup has even started, thus making it difficult for those who try to leech through illegal sources.