I'm the release coordinator for Ethereum (although I'm best known for open hardware http://hexayurt.com I do software too from time to time.)

We're certainly getting close. As you may know, we have a "never set dates" approach to our release schedule. Pushing for a date threatens a burned out developer cutting corners which later turn into security issues, and we'd kick ourselves if we shipped with issues we could have avoided with a realistic schedule.

I say this because the pressure is always to say "two weeks" and, of course, the answer has to be when it is ready.

But, soon.

My own description of ethereum: it's a shared database that is shaped like the network, and you can store and run code in it, using a standard virtual machine.

Everybody describes it slightly differently.