SQL Server 2008 Preview

The second preview of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 was released a few weeks ago, which leads me to two questions.

First, with a few weeks of banging away at it, is there a general consensus on what it looks like?  Comments welcome.

Second, what do you think about the community technology preview concept as opposed to a more traditional beta test cycle?  The CTP seems more inclusive to me, which could only be good for Microsoft since motivated users can download it whenever they want (as opposed to potentially being locked out of a closed beta if they didn't know the right people to get an invitation to join).  Are there any other pros or cons?