Today we are pleased to announce the release of the Confluence 3.1 Open Beta. As we draw back the red curtain, we invite you to download the Beta and let us know what you think.

What's new?

Confluence 3.1 is a major new release with many new features and improvements like support for embedding OpenSocial gadgets, Office 2007 support, and a number of significant improvements to the editing experience. You can find out more details on all Confluence 3.1 improvements in the release notes.

Where to download it?

With 3.1 we've created very simple "Evaluation" installers for Windows and Mac OS X so you can be up and running in just a couple minutes. To get started, download the installers here.

Any questions?

Q. I do not have time to download and install the Beta, is there a public instance already set up that I can test?
A. You can try out Confluence 3.1 on our public documentation server starting on November the 10th.

Q. Where do I get release notes and screenshots for the Beta?
A. The Confluence 3.1 Beta release notes are available here, and if you'd like to know more about the details of the features and how they evolved, you can have a look at our fortnightly announcements that were provided over the course of the release cycle. Once we ship the final 3.1 version, we will provide the in depth documentation as well.

Q. How do I provide feedback?
A. There are three main ways to provide feedback:

• For general feedback, please comment on the Confluence 3.1 Beta Release Notes page
• If you encounter a bug, please create a new issue in our public JIRA instance for Confluence. Be sure to select an "affects version" of 3.1-beta.
• If you'd like to speak to us in person, email us at confluence31-beta@atlassian.com. Depending on the topic of your comment, someone from our development team or from the product management team will get in touch.

Q. Can I get support for this release?
A. There is no Atlassian Support available for this release. Please log bugs, issues or feature requests in our public JIRA installation and be sure to select Confluence, affects version 3.1-beta.

Q. How Long will the Beta last?
A. The Beta will last approximately 2 weeks, ending on November 23, 2009.

Q. What happens next?
A. We will publish a second Beta next week, and then a short series of Release Candidates. We aim at publishing the final release shortly thereafter in early December.

We look forward to hearing from you on results of your beta testing. If you have any questions, please send email to confluence31-beta@atlassian.com