With the final version of Karmic Koala due in less than two months, things are looking good for Ubuntu 9.10. Alpha 5 has been officially released and is now available for download from the usual channels. The new alpha brings with it kernel 2.6.31-9.29, Gnome 2.27.91, GCC 4.4, and a lengthy list of additional updated packages. KUbuntu has been bumped to KDE 4.3.1 and its first Netbook Remix has also been released this time around.
The boot process will be overhauled, focusing on improved boot times... should be interesting to see if it really is better.
Grab it here if you want to try it - http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/karmic/alpha-5/