More in this HEXUS.hardline.Windows Vista RC2 (build 5744) - possibly the last beta version before the final operating system is released - came available Friday to technical beta testers.
Jim Allchin (heir-in-waiting to Bill Gates) told beta testers that this would be the last build before Vista moves to its release version and said that, "You’ll probably notice improvements in performance, application compatibility, as well as fit and finish work".
There's also comment already in this thread in HEXUS.binaries - operating systems & applications.