In general, I like the improved performance of the new build. I see a few things that I thought might be worth a comment or two:
1) The time it takes to get from the shutdown screen in Windows XP back to the VM config is much better. This use to take 10+ seconds in beta 6 and is now just a couple seconds in the RC. This is a nice improvement.
2) The Windows XP shutdown screen (it is now safe to turn off your computer) is not properly shown. In both the beta and RC the screen is cut off at the top as if being shown in a smaller window.
3) I love the look of the new installer. It has great graphics and a nice flow. Kudos to the folks that designed this component.
4) I am not, however, in love with the new buttons on the config screen. I did not love the old ones, but found them preferable to the new ones. The dark gray, boxy buttons just doesn't feel very Mac like.
5) The new dock icon is OK, but I actually think I like the older one better.
6) A floppy drive is still present in the device manager of Windows XP, but unable to start. This is a bug I honestly did not expect to be fixed yet since it was just reported it a couple of days ago, but I wanted to let you know it is still present in the RC build. FYI, just for other folks, my VM configuration does not have a floppy drive installed.
7) Switching to fullscreen mode appears to mess up my desktop window sizes/position. This is new in the RC (I believe, I'd have to reinstall beta 6 to verify). I am also unable to get full display resolution (e.g., 1440x900) when I switch to full screen even though I am using the latest tools. I get the windows resolution centered in the screen. This definitely use to work in the beta. This happens with fit guest checked and unchecked.
Well this is a good start. I should have a chance to place with USB tomorrow and make sure that things are still working there.
Mike