It looks like the Horizons beta test is coming to a close. The official release date is set firm at December 9, 2003! This just in from Artifact:
Beta will be ending at 12AM PST on Thursday December 4, 2003. At this time the shards will be taken offline and will no longer be accessible to beta participants. We will be spending the remaining days preparing for our North American launch on December 9, 2003.