At first blush, it would seem that those wanting the latest stable python, 2.6, would have to compile it themselves (or so python.org would indicate). Fortunately for us, that process, which is at best annoying, and at worst long and complicated, is spared us by our friends over at Launchpad, and their "Personal Package Archives".

In order to install anything from the PPA, you need to add them to your repositories: "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/doko/ubuntu/ intrepid main"

For those who've forgotten how, or just need a refresher, hit this page for full instructions.

Once you've done that, just run

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install python2.6

and you're done! (note that aptitude will inform you that this package is not verified -- because it's not in ubuntu's own repositories).