Yes, Virginia, beta is really coming

As of this evening there is nothing left on the 8.4 open-items list that
looks like a beta blocker:
http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/PostgreSQL_8.4_Open_Items

We certainly have some bugs there, but nothing that seems to require
another initdb to fix or that would really get in the way of testing.
So, let's get this thing into the hands of testers.

After some discussion among pgsql-core, we have concluded that we will
plan to wrap beta1 tarballs this Thursday (4/9). However, because of
the Easter holiday we will allow some extra time for the packagers to
do their thing. Public announcement of the beta is therefore planned
for next Wednesday, 4/15.

regards, tom lane