Is this significant? I haven't used Node but the changelog makes it looks like there's nothing particularly interesting about this release.
I believe every even version ie 0.4.x are just bug fixes and usability additions. I think the real core comes in the odd releases 0.3/5.x.
In the past the 0.2.x was the API stable branch and the 0.3.x was the experimental branch for the development of new features like SSL.It had an incompatible API against the 0.2.x branch.
All this went into the 0.4.x branch, which is now stable again and new features incl. API changes can be expected for 0.5.x.
It's a maintenance release on the stable series. Some really good fixes in there, if you care about node in production.
Each point release typically bumps the version of Google's V8 engine thats included too. So its bugfixes + the occasional performance optimization from Google.
The number of comments shows that node.js is rapidly confirming its fad status.
I'm not sure why a patch version release of a software package qualifies for a HN post, but the fact that it's on the front-page should speak volumes for Node's current popularity.
No you're totally right. A technology that allows easy, fast web programming in a paradigm that perfectly matches the nature of the web (event-driven design) is absolutely a fad.