Microsoft has released Windows Vista Build 5456, a new interim build of the operating system that brings many enhancements over the public Beta 2 release that came out less than three weeks ago. Going by Paul Thurrott's quick overview of the build's new additions, Microsoft has improved performance significantly in network browsing, applications like Word 2003, and throughout the rest of the OS. Thurrott also says Build 5456 cut down install time to just 30 minutes on his machine, while Beta 2 could take up to an hour.

Dramatically improved Setup speed. Long ago, Microsoft promised that Windows Vista would install in about 20 minutes, but we've seen nothing even close to that throughout the beta. While Windows Vista build 5456 doesn't quite achieve the 20 minute mark, it did install in just 30 minutes on my primary desktop, which is quite a bit better than before.

Slightly smarter networking. The first time you boot up into build 5456, it sets up the network as a public network rather than ask you if its public or private. Then, you have the option of changing it to private if that's what the network is (and it likely is if you just installed Vista).

Much faster network browsing. In Beta 2, waiting for Windows Vista to load your list of networked computers and shares was painfully slow. That's all been fixed in build 5456: Now, you're networking resources pop-up immediately, making the Network icon suddenly useful again.

Network and Sharing Center. The old Network Center has been renamed and prettied up. That's good, because Network Center was a UI disaster. Hopefully, with a few more tweaks, they can get this one right.

Switch between programs is back. Previously pre-release versions of Windows Vista included a Quick Launch icon that would trigger the cool Flip 3D task switcher, which can be handy for those without a Windows Key on their keyboard (Flip 3D is normally triggered by tapping Windows Key + Alt). Well, it's back in build 5456. Nice!