I can agree not wanting it until it is ready, Ted. I have to say, based on the reviews of the prebeta, I may have to say that the beta may be a good place to start. Vista never had this type of good press prior to releasing its first beta.
With the majority of posts I have read, the Prebeta of Windows 7 is a lot better then the accual beta of Vista. We will have to see what changes Microsoft has done from the Prebeta to the beta.