Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh Today

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Thanks to slimy & nshahzad for posting this and many others who submitted this to our newsdesk.

Microsoft will release a Technical Refresh build (4407.1005) for Office 2007 Beta 2 today. The UI is at lockdown after about 1000 changes to the ribbon and a new silver scheme. Anything after this will be bug fixes.

B2TR is compatible with Windows Vista RC1 and comes in 5 languages: English, German, French, Spanish and Japanese. The Technical Refresh will be available for public download at a cost of $1.50. This fee is requested in order for Microsoft to be able to pay for bandwidth and shipping costs.

Jensen Harris has posted many performance and reliability improvements:

Improved Ribbon (nearly 1000 changes)
Top-left redesign of the programs (File Menu)
Double-click the office button to close the window
Silver color scheme
Redesign of the PowerPoint Home tab
Improvements to default styles for all objects (pictures, tables, charts, SmartArt, headers, footers, etc.)
New Icons for all the products
Usability improvements to the Office menu
Send button in the form in Outlook

Beta 2 customers are expected to receive the update free of charge. A web patch, that is meant to be installed over Beta 2, is expected to be released for these users. The full install can only be used if the current Beta 2 is uninstalled. Public launch of Vista and Office 2007 is expected in early 2007. Three final editions will be released:

Standard Edition ($399 USD)
Professional Edition ($499 USD)
Ultimate Edition ($679 USD)

Screenshot: Three Themes Preview

Download: Download Office 2007 Beta 2 TR

Link: BPN Discussion

News source: Jensen Harris' Blog

(4 replies) #1 Julius Caro on 14 Sep 2006 - 08:51

400 USD? Holy mother.
How much will I have to pay for word and excel, which are the ones I use?

#1.1 kupang on 14 Sep 2006 - 08:59

just stick to your current office version

hehe..

btw, what's this phrase means ? -->

Quote -

The full install can only be used if the current Beta 2 is uninstalled.

heard that B2TR will only be offered as a patch to be installed on top of B2..

#1.2 freeeekyyy on 14 Sep 2006 - 09:23

Quote - Julius Caro said @ #1

Same price office has always costed. It's not home-user oriented software. And you can get excel and word standaone for $100 each.

#1.3 FloatingFatMan on 14 Sep 2006 - 10:25

If you can't afford to buy MS Office, there's always alternatives, like OpenOffice. It may not have all the eyecandy offered in the new office suite, but it's every bit as productive, and free too.

I used to be unimpressed by it until I recently decided to try out the latest version. It's actually pretty good and certainly beats the HELL out of MS Works!!

#1.4 ikyouCrow on 14 Sep 2006 - 12:00

Quote - kupang said @ #1.1

i guess you can't use the patch if there isn't an install to patch so you need the full installer.
also could mean that the full installer will exit if the previous beta is still installed and might tell you to uninstall it or get the patch.

just guessing.

#2 Digital Oracle on 14 Sep 2006 - 09:09

Word and Outlook are the two I mainly use. Sometimes Excel. Wonder how much MS will charge for this and how much the new works suite would cost if they actually decide to add Word 2007 to it.

#3 frazell on 14 Sep 2006 - 10:18

Now time to see if this build is close to "user usable"...

As in BETA 2 there were a lot of show stoper bugs and just plain annoyances. Can't wait to see if they fixed a long list of bugs and annoyances from me.

Once it finally gets released I have to find a way to afford it I guess as this is shaping up to be the best office release in my history, since Office 97.

#4 ZombieFly on 14 Sep 2006 - 10:26

i wish they'd used the office look in vista, the office apps look far superior to the mismatch of vistas many window styles. The office apps stand out when used in the vista OS, hopefully someone will be able to correct this after vistas launch

#5 ahhell on 14 Sep 2006 - 10:32

$1.50 to download??

WTF?

(1 reply) #6 Simon Thulbourn on 14 Sep 2006 - 10:45

Wow, this sucks. It's over priced (for both download and release) and it looks like crap... I sulute you retards in Microsoft's Office department

#6.1 RealFduch on 14 Sep 2006 - 12:53

Woman logic dictionary:

"No"="Yes"

Neowinian monkey logic dictionary:

"Wow, this sucks. It's over priced (for both download and release) and it looks like crap... I sulute you retards in Microsoft's Office department"="I really want it. And its price is good. But I'm skinflint. And I don't want everybody to know it."

(2 replies) #7 M118LR on 14 Sep 2006 - 10:58

There is always the Student Edition for around $100.00US

#7.1 dextro on 14 Sep 2006 - 11:04

Quote - M118LR said @ #7

Amen to that!

PS: Love that new silver look

Last edited by dextro on 14 Sep 2006 - 11:11

#7.2 Dane on 14 Sep 2006 - 15:31

Yeah but apparently that version wont have outlook. unless they changed that

(1 reply) #8 thefunkymunky on 14 Sep 2006 - 11:07

Is the toolbar in this new office really THAT BIG?

#8.1 RealFduch on 14 Sep 2006 - 12:38

It's optical illusion.
Ribbon <= 3 toolbars
3 toolbars = standart+formatting+some random toolbar (tables/image/reviewing)

So even when not minimized, ribbon is more compact than office 2003 toolbars.

#9 apoc.pt on 14 Sep 2006 - 11:22

"If you can't afford to buy MS Office, there's always alternatives, like OpenOffice. It may not have all the eyecandy offered in the new office suite, but it's every bit as productive, and free too."

you must be joking, especially because you are comparing OpenOffice to the NEW Office.

"Is the toolbar in this new office really THAT BIG?"

Yeah, the new version minimizes when not in use.

(5 replies) #10 ozgeek on 14 Sep 2006 - 11:52

No he is not joking.

What do you need an Office Suite for?

- Write letters/reports/memos/resumes

- Create spreadsheets with charts and stuff

- Create databases

- create slideshow for use as visual aids for speaking.

- manage time and check for email

OpenOffice can do all that except the last one and more. Mozilla Sunbird can do the last one and is free.

Making software like this be sold for expensive only encourage more piracy. If they had made it cheaper, more people will buy it. You don't need to pay a premium for Office. Jeese MS is becoming more greedy. I thought things get cheaper after it gets old. MS Office is nothing new. It has been around like 15 years. MS just make it more polish induce you to buy it but in the end it's the excat same edition as old versions.

#10.1 ikyouCrow on 14 Sep 2006 - 12:08

Quote - ozgeek said @ #10

MS just make it more polish induce you to buy it but in the end it's the excat same edition as old versions.

dude, i think you're talking about the playstation.

every version of office has been different from one another (except IMO office2000 and officeXP; i really think it's just eye-candy).

#10.2 eSouL on 14 Sep 2006 - 12:14

It has been around like 15 years. MS just make it more polish induce you to buy it but in the end it's the excat same edition as old versions.

So I guess you would still be happy to use MS Office Professional v4.3.

#10.3 Paul on 14 Sep 2006 - 12:15

Hardly, the inner workings of Office have significantly changed over the years.

Can you prove otherwise?

If it was just eye-candy, surley they wouldn't need so long to develop it? huh? Open Office has nothing on MS Office.

#10.4 ramesees on 14 Sep 2006 - 12:22

You work in software development do you ozgeek, you know how many people it takes to develop a piece of software and the time and effort it takes, from writing code, testing, bug hunting, QA, marketing, distribution, etc... ?

All of that costs money, and the more time and effort (and delay) that goes into developing a rather complex piece of software like Office, the more it is going to cost.

Developers dont work for free ya know........

#10.5 Jugalator on 14 Sep 2006 - 13:57

Open Office has nothing on MS Office.

That's quite an exaggeration. Thanks to OpenOffice's Word/Excel format compatibility, I can use OO at home without really suffering from any special problems, and it's a great alternative. Not quite as feature rich, but it still has a lot on MS Office.

All of that costs money, and the more time and effort (and delay) that goes into developing a rather complex piece of software like Office, the more it is going to cost.

Developers dont work for free ya know........

???

Yes, many do, and even if you don't, software can be cheap.
See e.g. Firefox that's free and have several developers working for money.
Or OpenOffice.

#11 RealFduch on 14 Sep 2006 - 13:08

Pricing for 3 years old Office 2003

Microsoft Office Standard 2003 Student and Teacher - Retail - $125
Microsoft Office 2003 Student and Teacher Edition - Retail - $135
Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 - Retail - $360
Microsoft Office 2003 Small Business Edition - Retail - $365
Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2003 - Retail - $315
Microsoft Office Project Standard 2003 - Retail - $440
Microsoft Office Publisher 2003 with Digital Imaging - Retail - $200
Microsoft Office Visio Standard 2003 - Retail - $180
Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2003 - Retail - $430
Microsoft Excel 2003 - Retail - $180
Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 - Retail - $200
Microsoft Outlook 2003 - Retail - $94
Microsoft Office OneNote 2003 - Retail - $80

Last edited by RealFduch on 14 Sep 2006 - 13:33

#12 Fr@nKy on 14 Sep 2006 - 13:20

Well! At least they haven't made Vista RC1 payed. I'll stick with 2003 till I get Vista + Office 2007 in January. And later (early Q3 2007, I hope) I'll get a mult-Core PC (not sure if Dual or Quad-Core

(1 reply) #13 plastikaa on 14 Sep 2006 - 13:36

Does the Beta 2 expire / does this new one expire - and is there anyway to find out when if it does?

After all if Microsoft continue to send me free software it would be nice to know that it doesnt expire.

#13.1 metalguy90 on 14 Sep 2006 - 13:41

if Microsoft is giving it away for free.... then most likely it will expire.

Office 2007 expires Feb 2007.
Windows Vista expires June 2007.

i could have the dates wrong but I am pretty sure those are it.

(1 reply) #14 gadean on 14 Sep 2006 - 13:40

wow, I'm not paying to download their beta in order to provide feedback!

#14.1 RootWind on 14 Sep 2006 - 14:05

Actually if you pay you are actually paying to preview, and not provide feedback. Since there is actually no way for you to provide any feedback besides crashing it.

#15 jasondefaoite on 14 Sep 2006 - 13:41

Will this be a free download on MSDN?

#16 Jugalator on 14 Sep 2006 - 13:53

That's quite a lot of changes for a "refresh". I wonder why they don't just call it Beta 3...

#17 nowimnothing on 14 Sep 2006 - 14:02

SO whats the delivery mechanism for this "web patch" for current beta 2 users? Microsoft Update? The office website?

#18 SiliconTaurus on 14 Sep 2006 - 14:32

I think it will be at the regular location for the office 2007 preview.

Office 2007 Preview

They will update it 9:00am PST .. so for me its around 12:00pm EST

(1 reply) #19 singwei on 14 Sep 2006 - 15:42

available now at

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;DisplayLang=en

#19.1 xUnix on 14 Sep 2006 - 15:48

downloding now 100kb/s

#20 metalguy90 on 14 Sep 2006 - 15:48

it is available!
and it looks like its not a patch. the file is 494MBs for the Office Pro Suite.

d/l'ing at 400kbps.

Last edited by metalguy90 on 14 Sep 2006 - 15:54

(1 reply) #21 fpd on 14 Sep 2006 - 15:55

Its up (494MB) and it is a patch!!!

#21.1 metalguy90 on 14 Sep 2006 - 16:19

my mistake.
thats one hefty patch!

(2 replies) #22 wilbert on 14 Sep 2006 - 15:55

I think it is now out....is this it??

Office Beta 2 Tech Refresh

#22.1 chisss on 14 Sep 2006 - 16:30

yea.. hmmm... there is no fee to download the TR!?!?! where the hell are you guys getting that it costs $1.50 to download?

#22.2 xMorpheousx416 on 15 Sep 2006 - 05:55

Quote - chisss said @ #22.1

Following the original Microsoft Office Page links, and you'll see!

(1 reply) #23 ThePitt on 14 Sep 2006 - 15:56

Ultimate Edition ($679 USD)
this is getting cheap and cheap every day. I may brought... 10. 10 copies, please

#23.1 RealFduch on 15 Sep 2006 - 05:52

Can U rly handle The Ultimate?

#24 Tom275 on 14 Sep 2006 - 16:28

That's the update only if you have the Beta 2 version installed.

(1 reply) #25 fear_machine on 14 Sep 2006 - 16:34

How much is the limewire version? lol

#25.1 neufuse on 14 Sep 2006 - 18:21

5yrs in federal prision.. umm I'll pay the $450 and pass go

#26 nshahzad on 14 Sep 2006 - 16:55

anyone have a md5?

(3 replies) #27 xMorpheousx416 on 14 Sep 2006 - 17:15

So, $449 for Vista Ultimate, and $679 for 2007 Ultimate....a whoopin $1,100.00. I know mass resources go into new technology, but does anyone else see why pirating is so lucrative?

Standard edition is a moot point unless all you want are the standard four programs. Kinda like 2003's 'school' edition.

Oh, and SKIP the $1.50 download cost.....Bink has the links.

#27.1 d66 on 14 Sep 2006 - 18:36

--^ Hero

#27.2 RealFduch on 15 Sep 2006 - 05:51

Are U - The Ultimate Man?
Can U rly handle The Ultimate?

#27.3 xMorpheousx416 on 15 Sep 2006 - 05:58

Quote - RealFduch said @ #27.2

I use nothing but the high end software. And each time that new edition hits the market, it's another expenditure that isn't worth the update until finally needed.

#28 ahhell on 14 Sep 2006 - 17:44

WOW their servers are fast!!!

I'm getting 950KB/s.

#29 neufuse on 14 Sep 2006 - 18:16

Ok... it says on betaplace that tech testers get this for "absoulty no charge" yet... it wants me to pay $1.50 wtf?

#30 xUnix on 14 Sep 2006 - 18:42

Outlook still takes ages to download a few emails....

anyone noticed the same?

(1 reply) #31 ernicoats on 14 Sep 2006 - 19:04

how do you change themes?

#31.1 chisss on 14 Sep 2006 - 20:15

click on the office logo on the top left corner and select at the bottom right of that menu on "word options" or "excel options" whatever u are using... then u can change the scheme.

#32 B3L13V3R on 14 Sep 2006 - 19:27

Anyone know if and when it will support the CRM 3.0 client?

(1 reply) #33 eilegz on 14 Sep 2006 - 23:52

i wont pay for dl it maybe i get a torrent somewhere to try it xDD, microsoft its so greedy want to charge even for beta

#33.1 xMorpheousx416 on 15 Sep 2006 - 05:57

Quote - eilegz said @ #33

You wouldn't have to if you READ the comments....and refer back to my post, #27.

#34 w2sjw on 15 Sep 2006 - 00:13

Here's the MD5 hash for those that need it:

9AD077C27FB279516B8636E43C3E0463

Enjoy!

#35 weiran on 15 Sep 2006 - 07:59

Nice, I'm getting the full 2200Kb/s on the download, finished in 3 minutes

#36 nickels on 15 Sep 2006 - 08:55

this an update? as it looks for stuff to be updated, but on vista RC1 i cant install previous versions ?

(1 reply) #37 Zionyx on 15 Sep 2006 - 23:50

For once, I can say Microsoft - Impressed. Nice update, fixes a lot of my problems and overall more stability from what I can see. Nice.

#37.1 Coolme on 18 Sep 2006 - 17:23

Ditto, thank god they fixed the printing problems.

(1 reply) #38 fattyman on 17 Sep 2006 - 03:00

guys. i have beta 2, but when i try and install the patch. i keep on getting a sign saying that the installation of this package failed. Please see for more details. anyone else have this problem?

#38.1 Malkus Soban on 25 Sep 2006 - 15:29

Same problem here, and whenever I try to boot up OneNote after the update fails, OneNote just doesnt boot. There is an KB entry on how to troubleshoot it, but it doesnt say much other than to empty the Temp folder and enable logging.

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