Dalin, the event mentioned in the Kotaku (as well as
Gamecyte) article took place in San Francisco on Wednesday and Thursday. I would guess there will be other previews showing up in coming days.
As for other events, the Develop conference took place last week; immediate future previews include Game Convention in Germany next week and PAX the week following.
Diablo, I haven't heard of any plans for a stand alone character creator. It is a worthy suggestion that I will bring up to the powers that be, but I cannot say how it will be received. The Dev team is working hard on Aion.
~kieron