Wow, this year starts with some exciting news. Last night at the International CES 2009 Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, announced the broad availability of the first beta release of Windows 7. Watch the keynote video and more about CES at microsoft/ces.

The beta of Windows 7 is on schedule and feature complete. Now is a great time for partners and customers to get their hands on this fantastic new platform. If you are a MSDN or TechNet subscriber you already have access to the bits. Just go to subscriber downloads, locate the Windows 7 bits under Operating Systems and off you go.

From this Friday on everyone will be able to try Windows 7 Beta. Downloads will be available at http://microsoft.com/windows7. This website also sports scenario videos providing great introductions and ideas for cool things to try with Windows 7, IE8, and Windows Live.

If you want to stay on top of things, don’t forget to monitor what is coming on TechNet Edge. Over the next days, weeks and months we will extensively cover Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.