Microsoft recently announced the release of its Office 2010 Click-To-Run Technical Preview program for certain users with access to the office suite beta, allowing them to use Office programs while they are still downloading. The applications include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote and is meant for home, student and small business users, with Microsoft indicating it's a taste of things to come from the software giant. Office 2010 is still in the beta stage, and Microsoft is encouraging the limited number of testers to share their feedback after using the software.
When the Office suite is done downloading, users are informed that they can now use it offline. While the product is still downloading, Microsoft notes there may be some slight delays compared to when the software is installed on the PC. Also, a partial download, such as when the connection to the web is interrupted, will not result in the software being completely useless, as was the case in the past, but rather have limited functionality. Once the connection is restored, Office will continue streaming right where it stopped.
Operating systems that support the Office 2010 Click-to-Run program include Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP1 and the beta version of Windows 7, with Windows Server operating systems not supported.
Source: Electronista
