Today (07/24/2014) Apple released OS X Yosemite Public Beta to those who signed up for the free beta program. Although Apple has said the public beta would be only available to the first million subscribers, the beta program was still accepting signups at the time of this writing.

Many of you who signed up for the Yosemite beta program have been waiting for an email from Apple announcing that you've been granted access to the beta program.

Well, stop waiting on an email; you can get to the beta site without it.

Provided you signed up for the beta program (you can sign up here), you can access the beta site, receive your redemption code, and download and install OS X Yosemite by following these steps:

1. Make sure you're using a Mac that meets the minimum requirements, and that your Mac is running OS X Mavericks.
2. Using Safari, open the OS X Beta web site.
3. Just below the Sign Up button is a link allowing those who are already in the beta program to sign in. As long as you've signed up, you should be able to go to the beta site using the Sign In link.
4. This link will bring you to the OS X Yosemite Beta Guide web site. Be sure to read through the entire page as it provides information on how to use the beta, how to provide feedback, and currently known issues with the beta.
5. After reading through the page, click the Get OS X Yosemite Beta Redemption Code button.
6. You'll be taken to a page with more detailed information about what you need to run OS X Yosemite, an admonishment to back up your Mac, and a warning about the nature of beta software. You can then agree that you've read the information and understand the limitations of beta software.

1. Once you agree, a redemption code will be generated. You can use the redemption code in the Mac App Store to download the beta of OS X Yosemite.
2. To start the download process, click the Download OS X Yosemite Beta button. This will launch the Mac App Store, automatically enter your redemption code, and then start the download of the beta.
3. Once the download is finished, the OS X Yosemite installer will start automatically. At this point, quit the installer by selecting Quit from the OS X Yosemite Installer menu.

The reason I suggest quitting the installer without installing the beta is because you'll probably want to do a bit of housekeeping on your Mac first. I can't stress this enough. Beta software always has bugs and problems, and it's important to protect your current system and all of your data before installing the beta.

You can start the housekeeping chores, as well as walk through an installation guide, by reading: How to Install OS X Yosemite Public Beta.