UPDATED x6: Grab Windows 7 Beta 1 from TechNet - NOW!
UPDATE x6: Beta extended: "We have clearly heard that many of you want to check out the Windows 7 Beta and, as a result, we have decided remove the initial 2.5 million limit on the public beta for the next two weeks (thru January 24th). During that time you will have access to the beta even if the download number exceeds the 2.5 million unit limit." UPDATE x5: Official download page is back up.
UPDATE x4: A few of you have asked for the hashes of the ISO files ... here they are:
32-bit
MD5: f9dce6ebd0a63930b44d8ae802b63825 SHA1: 6071184282b2156ff61cdc5260545c078cca31ee
64-bit
MD5: 773fc9cc60338c612af716a2a14f177d SHA1: e09fdbc1cb3a92cf6cc872040fdaf65553ab62a5
UPDATE x3: Direct download links: Windows 7 x86 (32bit) and x64 (64 bit) now seem to be working again so if you still want to get your hands on the beta, do it now! As for product keys Neowin has a suggestion that might work. There's also a suggestion for Firefox users. Reports I'm getting are divided as to whether this wirks or not.
UPDATE x2: Direct download links: Windows 7 x86 (32bit) and x64 (64 bit) - these may work ... may not. No word on when product keys will be available.
UPDATE: Looks like the stampede was too much for Microsoft's servers. As a result of the crushing load Microsoft has pulled the beta 1 download until it ... well, it can heal the servers.
Let the stampede begin - Windows 7 Beta 1 appears on TechNet!
Here's the download link:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd353205.aspx
Servers are really busy now so you'll need to be patient (Connect, TechNet and MSDN was really slow all day yesterday).
Remember, Microsoft is only giving away 2.5 million keys - Good luck!