Looks like our Windows using friends could be finding a super fast-booting stripped down copy of Ubuntu Light pre-installed on their netbooks some time in the future.

Interesting snippet from Mark Shuttleworth:
We wanted to be surfing the web in under 10 seconds, and give people a fantastic web experience. We also wanted it to be possible to upgrade from that limited usage model to a full desktop.
(emphasis mine)

Generic images won't be available for download, as Canonical will be customising it for each OEM's particular hardware.