The newest release of blender is now here. This version (2.53) is the first béta version, 2.51 and 2.52 were the alpha releases of the 2.5 branch. Updates from 2.52 include;
-overall improved stability. The latest test builds of alpha 2 that I downloaded were also crash-free for me, but I guess this time it's even better.
-Overhauled sculpting system. I've toyed around with some test builds of the 2.52 version that had this, but now the new features are fully integrated, including the all new "infinite mud" option which relies heavily on the algorithms the developers received from the Sculptris developer.
-New addon system. Much like the plugins, but this time the addons can be fully integrated into the UI for more functionality.

Announcement on blender's blog:
http://www.blendernation.com/blender-2- ... derNation)
DOWNLOAD
Webpage with downloadable extensions for this new version:
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Exten ... Notes/2.53

I'm very excited to see how this version will work; I'm still waiting for my download to finish.
EDIT:
Did someone say... Volumetric lighting: (my first stab at this)

Awesome. I've been waiting for this for a while now.

It seems a lot more powerful, but it is completely different. I have to relearn some of the hotkeys.