Although Microsoft hasn't specified a release date, information published on its own Web site earlier this month hinted that the beta would become available . And with slated to deliver a keynote speech Jan. 7 on the evening before the opening of the International CES trade show in Las Vegas, speculation has been brisk that he will not only talk about Windows 7, but possibly also announce the immediate availability of the beta.

Today, however, Microsoft stuck to its earlier vague timetable. "The Windows 7 public beta is still expected in early 2009," a company spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail. She declined to respond to questions about what actions Microsoft would, or could, take against BitTorrent sites that list the pirated build.

Windows 7 is scheduled to ship late next year or in early 2010, according to statements made previously by Microsoft.