I have to admit I'm a bit amazed at this and wonder how it fits with the stated goal of a Beta program.  Most companies that I know of deal with Beta software in one of two ways.  1. They only release the beta product to a subset of customers who are given first access to key new features while working through bugs and missing features.  This is usually contract based.  2. The beta is released to the widest possible user base who can voluntarily choose to participate.

Microsoft has quietly announced that as of this week they are going to charge the general public to download the Beta version of their current Office release.  The charge a $1.50 US is nominal but as far as I know is a first for downloaded beta software.  Why this is interesting is that it implies it costs Microsoft a $1.50 for each downloaded copy of their product (the charge is for 'cost recovery'). Of note however, the online 'Test Drive' of the software which would seem to require more system resources will remain free. Given my last Developer Update newsletter which dealt with how some systems are moving to a hosted model.  I'll end up covering this as part of my 'Glad You Asked' column in the newsletter this Friday.

To subscribe go to: http://www.sqlmag.com/email/