1.3?

So, while reading about faked folders and/or static pages, I was advised to wait for the 1.3 WordPress release. Is this “real soon now?”
Basically I’m not a blogger but just want an easy way to manage a xhtml/css site with weekly or so additions, although blog features like comments/feedback and rss sound pretty useful. Althought that may sound bloggy, its more like frequent updated static sites. I think WordPress can do that, right?
In what way will 1.3 support static pages??
Thanks!
Owen