How do I get bata of this or beta of that? And in most cases I either have a CD somewhere, or I unfortunately tell you that one has to be atleast a MSDN Subscriber.
Now Students have their own BETA place where they can register and receive better chances of being approved for a BETA program - Beta Experience from Microsoft [http://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/students/en/default.aspx]
“By registering for the Student Beta Experience you’ll receive exclusive information about Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office release as well as notifications as soon as the new beta versions are available for download.”
“The Student Beta Experience provides a “room for experiments” for students like you to really get to know the new beta releases of Microsoft products. The Beta Experience provides tailor-made information for students and developers to get to know today what people will be working with tomorrow.”