>>>I have tracked down one possible way. It seems that becoming a MCSP you get betas. I wonder how the rest of us get them though?
>>
>>John K and I talked to Calvin Hsia about this some at DevCon. He said, basically, make yourself known as helpful with the current version. Establish a working relatonship with the VFP team and gain a reputation for submitting bugs that really are bugs- along with the solid steps to reproduce them. Submit thoughtful ideas (ie NOT "I want OO menus") for future versions. You have to show them that you will be helpful as a Beta tester, and not just in it for the free advanced copy.

The standard procedure for seeking entry to ms betas is:

Send an email to:

betareq@microsoft.com

Put the name of the product in the subject line : VFP7

and your name, address, email and contact details ...
note of hardware and list any other beta projects you
have been involved with.

MS will then place you on the list ...

BUT ... its not a free ride still ...