Microsoft will ship the final prerelease version of Windows Vista on Friday and, unexpectedly, will name the new version Release Candidate 2 (RC2). (Microsoft had stated earlier that it wouldn't ship an RC2 milestone release of Vista.) But don't let the name fool you. RC2 is really just a standard interim build of Vista, but unlike RC1, it won't be distributed to millions of users.
The RC2 build is 5743, and Microsoft is currently testing it internally. As with the previous interim build, 5728, RC2 will go to beta testers, Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) and TechNet subscribers, and a random, limited number of Consumer Preview Program (CPP) members.
-Christopher