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<H1><A class=top
href="http://lifehacker.com/5127294/windows-7-beta-ready-for-official-download"><FONT
color=#000000>Windows 7 Beta Ready for (Official) Download</FONT></A></H1>
<DIV class=entry>
<DIV class=post-byline><FONT face=Verdana>By <CITE><A
title="Click here to read posts written by KEVIN PURDY"
href="http://lifehacker.com/people/Therevan/posts/" rel=nofollow><FONT
color=#000000>Kevin Purdy</FONT></A></CITE>, </FONT><A href=""
rel=nofollow><FONT face=Verdana color=#000000>7:34 AM</FONT></A><FONT
face=Verdana> on Fri Jan 9 2009, <SPAN id=editor_controls></SPAN></FONT></DIV><!-- google_ad_section_start -->
<P><FONT face=Verdana><IMG height=160
src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2009/01/windows7_thumb_01.png"
width=245></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>Ladies & gents, start your (2.5 million) downloads.
The official Windows 7 Beta is ready for download at Microsoft's TechNet
site.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>It looks like downloading the 32- or 64-bit versions
requires a Windows Live ID account, but you can sign up during the click-through
process, of course. As you might expect, the servers are a bit bombed, and it
looks like the </FONT><A
href="http://lifehacker.com/5126893/how-to-get-in-on-the-limited-windows-7-beta-1-download"><FONT
face=Verdana color=#000000>official page we were all watching</FONT></A><FONT
face=Verdana> hasn't updated with a link yet.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>Having trouble getting through to download? Check out
</FONT><A
href="http://lifehacker.com/5126893/how-to-get-in-on-the-limited-windows-7-beta-1-download"><FONT
face=Verdana color=#000000>tips on getting the download</FONT></A><FONT
face=Verdana>, and post any work-arounds/mirrors you find in the comments (other
than, of course, "use BitTorrent").</FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana> </FONT>
<DIV class=related><A
href="http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd353205.aspx"><FONT
face=Verdana color=#000000>Windows 7 Beta</FONT></A><FONT face=Verdana> [via
</FONT><A
href="http://arstechnica.com/journals/microsoft.ars/2009/01/09/windows-7-public-beta-is-available-now"><FONT
face=Verdana color=#000000>Ars Technica</FONT></A><FONT
face=Verdana>]</FONT></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>