Its Official: Windows 7 Beta Available

Microsoft last night officially released the first beta of its Windows 7 to MSDN and TechNet subscribers. The beta will be open to all testers sometime today afternoon.

Windows 7 has been there Out in the Wild (Torrents, etc) since December. Windows 7 features and screen shots can be viewed here.

The release of the beta had been widely expected in recent days but CEO Steve Ballmer made it official Wednesday night in the opening keynote address at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

In his CES keynote, Ballmer indicated that he wants a broad swath of users and developers to test Windows 7 Beta 1 Build 7000. “We are on track to deliver the best version of Windows ever, we are putting in all the right ingredients — simplicity, reliability and speed and working hard to get it right and to get it ready,” Ballmer said.

A recorded video of the keynote address can be viewed here.