The boards work standalone, nothing else required. If you buy multiple boards you can stack them together using the miniplane.
The boards work standalone? As in without a pc? Or am I reading too much into that? Don't they connect via usb to a pc/mac/other device?
can't see an ethernet port

Hope the chips have been sent (Dave are you reading?

lol)
Cannot wait to get my hands on my boards and start hashing!!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!
Ok so not standalone in that sense. You will need a PC or a rasp pi, but standalone in that you don't need the miniplane. The board via USB will work just fine.

On the chips front. All things being equal, both chip batches should be in the air early next week.
