Installing Ubuntu on a new PC

[Geoffrey]

I am about to buy a new PC with a blank HDD which is to be installed
with Ubuntu. Bearing in mind that 10.04 is on the horizon how should I
go about this?
My existing working PC has 9.10 (fully upgraded of course) and its home
directory is backed up on an external HDD. This PC will continue to be
used unchanged in a different home location and in a secondary role and
will be upgraded to 10.04 in due course of time.
I prefer to load Ubuntu from a CD as my internet service plan is limited
to 1 Gb.
I see several ways of installing Ubuntu on the new PC:
1. Install 9.10 (hopefully in current upgrade state) now from a CD
that I will have to order and get from Ubuntu-AU.
	Load in the home directory files from the external HDD.
	Load all the programs currently used by me via Synaptic Package
Manager.
   Upgrade to 10.04 when it is released for the working computer. By the
way when is that to be?
2. Wait for 10.04 and install on the new PC when a CD becomes available
through Ubuntu-AU.
	Load in the home directory files from the back up on the external HDD
(will this work in the new version of Ubuntu?).
	Load all the programs currently used by me via Synaptic Package
Manager.	
3. Have the local computer shop copy the contents of my existing PC's
HDD (9.10 + installed programs and files) on to the new PC's HDD.
	Upgrade to 10.04 when it is released for the working computer.

I would like the process to be seamless and maybe one of more of the
above ways may have problems.
Your advice/experience would be appreciated.
Geoffrey