From Paul Thurrot´s WinInfo:
According to a source close to Microsoft, the company will release Whistler Beta 1 on October 11, 2000, followed by Beta 2 on December 6, 2000, RC1 on February 14, 2001, RC2 on March 21, 2001 and the final release build on April 18, 2001. Interestingly, these dates place the release of Whistler about 6 months closer than the company´s publicly stated release schedule, and more in line with previous projections.