Looks great!!
Some minor suggestions are:
1. Making the rotating slides the same length as the two article boxes below. (longer on each side.) so its a bit more free flowing as oppose to being centred
2. Having the latest thread tab on top. Because you already have articles below anyway. Regardless of all these new features (which are great!), I think the best and most powerful part is the forum. So you should really push that.
Anyway, thats my two cents.