This version of Chrome OS is most likely the source code that was slated to be "released before the end of year" according to Google's blog. It might not be completely baked and will probably carry the trusty Google "beta" label, or perhaps even an "alpha" label. But how else can a great operating system become fully stable without a band of great community supporters like us?
So get your downloading pants hitched up and break out those OS installation skills because it's getting close. I mean a week? That's like 7 days! Let's just keep our fingers crossed that Chrome OS will work on a large range of hardware, or at least one of our beasts!