Is the file located at
http://97.74.44.48/evo/update.zip in the opening post above a stable update and what will come OTA later this week? I am comfortable performing the update I just do not want to do this and miss something later with the OTA.
I can't attest to that actual file as I didn't download my update from there, but more than likely it IS the same 2.2 a lot of us downloaded and installed from the HTC servers.
As far as I can tell, we had one bricking of a phone. All other quirks were fixed with a hard reset post install.
When this file became known to everyone that it was on the HTC servers, HTC quickly pulled it and said it's not quite the final build.
So, it may be, it may not be. If you upgrade now, I would think (tho doubt) there is a slight possibility you won't be able to get the OTA.
It's def supposed to start being available Tues Aug 3. The press release said "Starting week of Aug 1" - leading some people to believe they could start requesting it today via Settings -> Update Phone -> HTC Software. So you could just wait.. you really aren't missing that much. It isn't really a WOW! upgrade to be honest. Yeah, I got all excited like everyone else (my first smart phone), but it isn't that big of a deal.. and for the most part, I really can't tell the difference.
If you were going to do the update now, personally, I would back everything up using something like MyBackUp Pro or something similar. Copy those files off the SD Card. Uninstall all your apps yourself. Do a hard reset. Install 2.2. Do another hard reset. Restore your data.
This is probably WAY WAY WAY WAAAAAAY over kill - as 2.2 is NOT supposed to jack up your settings, and supposed to leave everything as is. BUT, we did have at least one bricking, I got a non-stop Force Close on HTC Sense as the desktop would load - 25+ - rebooted, same thing until I hard reset, and there were some other quirks like cameras not working right away.
I will probably do the over kill steps to me wife's and son's prior to downloading 2.2 OTA. I'll probably regret it, though. lol.