Posting from my fresh 10.04 install right now!
I've been with Ubuntu for several years now (since 2004, I think) and it always amazes me when people complain about it making the more complicated things about Linux a bit more obfuscated behind the UI. As I remember it, Ubuntu was originally "Linux for everyone", meaning that their goal was to make a Linux distro as user-proof as possible. I hate to say this, but their unstated goal was to make it as much like a Windows experience as possible, since that is what the vast majority of average PC users were used to. For Linux purists, this means an OS that doesn't openly let them do the things they want to do with it by default, like most other distros, but for the Linux newbie, it means an OS that "just works", unlike most other distros. Complaining about the fact that Ubuntu is very clearly reaching its goals is like complaining that the sky is blue; its supposed to be like that. Canonical has done a very good job of guiding Ubuntu along the path it has always been on from the beginning. Their recent push towards innovation, while I also don't necessarily agree with it (I have issues with "cloud computing") is just the next natural step in making Ubuntu not just comparable to Windows, but superior to it, from the perspective of the average user. That might mean they lose a few of the Linux enthusiast crowd, but so what, that isn't the people they were making Ubuntu for in the first place.
That being said, moving the window buttons over to the left side is one of the stupidest things I have ever seen in my life.

All right, explains a lot :-) Still, Mandriva was a great starting point for me in Linux - then again, unlike 'average' users, I can apparently use google to solve issues :D

I've got Ubuntu on another hard drive, just in case, if something happens to Windows.
I dunno, the whole window buttons on the left... Kind of silly, considering people already bypassed it with custom themes (I think)...
I do like the purple colour though, that brown was so ugly.
Oh, considering I have no real idea how to use Linux, Ubuntu is ideal for me, an average user.

For the button issue, I just went into Appearance and changed the rather ugly theme to one of my for favourite themes, the buttons switched back automatically. Not a problem.
I just figured that was unique to the purple theme and a few other built in themes as something to appeal to Mac users

As mentioned earlier in this thread you can change the button position of any of the bundled themes with a single Terminal command.

That is correct, but having multiple options is never bad. Some ppl might not want to use the terminal.

Gave the new Ubuntu a spin in Virtualbox all day yesterday and I really have to say that I'm not too impressed. There's just something quite clunky about the whole package when compared to other distros.
Personally, I get all my linux needs from a Pardus 2009 install in Virtualbox. It's a Turkish government-funded distro that is very user friendly and, unlike Ubuntu, I have yet to encounter any bugs whatsoever with it. Very recommended.

*laughter*

I installed the new version on the wife's desktop and so far so good.
It boots faster than 9.10
A boatload of packages were updated with no problem at all.
Firefox and Iceweasel seem to run faster.
Flash seems to run faster.
Compiz doesn't make Freeciv's window jump up and down no more!
There used to be a weird SDL mouse input bug related to Logitech mice on fullscreen apps(games), It seems to be gone.
Total download to get everything updated was a whooping 2 GB! but then again, she has a lot of junk installed from the repositories.
My only complaints are the button placement (solved, thanks denayasis), and the weird new look. But it's nothing that cannot be changed in a couple of minutes.
So far i'm happy and will now update my laptop.
How are you guys doing and have you found any bugs we should be aware off?

Moving the controls is not that huge a deal, guys... here's at least good reason for it, too. It moves the main window control functions closer to the origin of the screen (0,0). To illustrate why this is good, just change your resolution to 640x480 and launch... well, anything. Your controls are actually on the screen (virtual screens have gone away these days, it seems)
To further illustrate, on Windows, launch the MTX client and curse if the control buttons are way over to the right - under the Win7 taskbar if you have it setup as I do. Shuffle, maximize every single time...
Third example... If you log in to your Ubuntu machine with VNC on a handheld... or if you are actually *running* on a handheld (like my n800) you'll appreciate that you can actually click "maximize" (or even close) on any window.
It's a simple enough thing to get used to, with the possible benefits it offers...

Those "benefits" are stretching things a bit. Who actually runs their desktop or laptop at 640X480 anymore? How many Ubuntu users are really accessing their machine through a handheld and VNC or running Ubuntu on a handheld? The answer to both those questions is very likely "almost no one". If a large number, not even necessarily a majority, of Ubuntu users were doing things like that, I might agree that there is some benefit to the button switch, but all I see is the designers simply made an aesthetic choice. There was no reasoning behind the choice other than "I think this will look cool". From a usability standpoint, it doesn't really change anything, but it is annoying and pointless.

Well, netbooks and smartphones (dare I bring up tablets?) are pretty big things these days, don't write it off completely.
It's not like a major breakage inducing system change like... oh I dunno... pulseaudio?

Even netbooks and tablets run at a default resolution that doesn't cut off the window controls on the right. About the only place that I could see a use for the swapped buttons is in the smartphone market, but how many people are really going to replace their existing smartphone OS with Ubuntu? Again, almost no one. Even if that weren't the case, why make a system-wide change to the entire OS for something like that, when it would be more correctly accomplished by adding a "smartphone theme" as an option? Or better yet, a smartphone edition of Ubuntu, like their already popular "netbook remix" version?
You're right, its not a system-breaking problem like Pulse was (and still is), its just a pointless change that serves no real purpose, like their switch from a brownish theme to a purpleish theme... but at least that change doesn't mean I might accidentally hit the wrong button and close an app that I meant to minimize.

I'm still referring to VNC/remote access in general though. Maybe you have a 1920x1280 screen at home, and you want to use an iPhone to do something while you're on the road... you're not going to want to switch a theme on the fly, nor install a whole new netbook remix version just to access a few programs, of course.
It's just about flexibility, which is the strength of Linux, really.
Hooray for getting rid of the brown! I always hated that trend.