When Beta2 was released, I wanted to get my hands on it right away. This meant downloading it from MSDN Subscriptions since it would take a while before any CD's would arrive. I have DSL with 512kb up and download. Downloading the 3.2GB installer took nearly 20 hours, The SQL Server CTP wasn't quite as painful. Though I have a CD RW drive, I do not have a DVD RW, so I then copy the file to my whidbey desktop as well as my whidbey laptop. I know I know - it's true, I don't do VPC. Bare with me. Then, since I did repave both boxes, I installed Daemon Tools, to use their DVD emulator so that I could run the DVD image files from the hard drive. All of this was a lot of effort and time for installing.
Now of course, the Beta2s are flowing like water! I even received 30 sets of installs in the latest INETA swag mailing for my user group. I have received a few in the mail, one at TechEd and Microsoft is giving them out at many events.
And then what happens? Yesterday, the June CTP for VS2005 was announced and is available for download on MSDN subscriptions (same for SQL Server 2005). So here I sit, debating whether I will stick with the current beta (mind you, I have a vs2005 based presentation to do at DevTeach -- in beautiful Montreal -- in a few days), or spend a lot of time downloading, installing, etc. It's a sickness, I tell you. But I think for now, for the sake of my sanity and my productivity, I will stick to the legacy VS2005 Beta2 bits (maybe for another week or so!)