IE7 RC1 is here! I've been running IE7 since the first public beta and have really liked it. If you haven't already installed it, I highly recommend it.
The RC1 build includes improvements in performance, stability, security and comparability. There have also been changes to the fit and finish of the user interface and an auto-uninstall feature in Setup, which will automatically uninstall earlier betas of IE7.
The automatic uninstall feature is very nice since it helps to streamline the install process. To get through the install I required two reboots, one to finish uninstalling the beta 3 and the other to finish installing RC1. The reboot after RC1 was automatic as the install started as soon as the system booted from the previous uninstall.
IE7 will be distributed as a high-priority update via Automatic Updates soon after the final version is released for Windows XP later this year, so you will be running it whether you want to or not. Given the number of security fixes that have been rolled in to this release of Internet Explorer, you are probably going to want to install it anyway.