Microsoft Office 2010 Beta to Start Later This Year

There’s some new information about Microsoft Office 2010, the next version of Microsoft Office that will also have a web component similar to Google Docs.

1. Microsoft will replace Microsoft Works with a trimmed down and ad-supported version of Microsoft Office called the Office 2010 starter edition.

2. The starter edition of Office 2010 will have Word and Excel programs and it will only be available with new PCs.

3. The public beta of Office 2010 will start later this year  though you can try Office Web Apps now itself.

4. Office 2010 will be available in three editions – Office Home and Student 2010, Office Home and Business 2010, or Office Professional 2010 (looks like they killed the Ultimate edition).

5. Click-to-Run is a new feature that will make it easier for you to try Microsoft Office 2010 on an existing PC. It will automatically install software patches when connected to the Internet and, since it uses virtualization, you’ll be able install multiple versions of Microsoft Office on the same computer side-by-side.