Every six months these articles become popular. I've been using Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) for a few months now and I thought I'd share what I thought.
For most users
Step 1:
Install Ubuntu 10.10
Step 2:
Install the little extras you might want, such as Thunderbird, Galeon, etc.
Step 3:
Enjoy!
For cli users
Step 3:
apt-get install aptitude aptitude purge vim-tiny aptitude install vim
Step 4:
Enjoy!
For psychotic users like me
Step 1:
Grab Alternate CD
Install "Command Line" system
Step 2:
Strip the crap out of it - bare essential packages only!
Step 3:
TOO MANY PACKAGES! Get them out.
No, you don't need that, prove to me you can't boot or network without it..
Step 4:
Get rid of vim-tiny; bring in vim and aptitude.
Step 5:
Tell aptitude not to bring in suggested/recommended packages.
Now just install the bare minimum system you need
Step 6:
Create a chroot; hop into it.
Install what you need for compiling things.
Step 7:
Grab the kernel source, trim down until there's almost nothing there.
Install that kernel to your system and remove all the other kernel stuff.
I like monolithic because now I have no need for copying modules.
I also trimmed it to the point where I don't need initramfs/initrd.
Step 8:
Looks good? Now trim it some more.
Step 9:
Tweak the crap out of openbox and anything else you need.
Step 10:
Enjoy!
Just for the heck of it, I decided to post my .config. I usually get asked for it when I mention a stripped down kernel.