This may be sound like a pretty "noobish" question but I'm just looking for an easy answer.

Say you were to install ubuntu 9.10 beta (or even one of the alphas for that matter). Obviously it will continuously get updated and the final release is available on the 29th of this month. Would using the update manager to update everything through the release be the same as installing the release version on the final day? (minus the bugs and problems). Or more clearly I mean will the update manager provide someone with the final version or must you reinstall the final version to get everything intended and working properly?

Not saying I'm doing this I dont want a thread of a thousand people telling me to use beta only for testing I just want to know so I know haha.

You should be able to update to the full release using the update manager. Many will say that it is better to reinstall from scratch. I agree if you want to increase your chances of a smooth transition. However if no-one tests the reliability of using the update manager to do it, faults/problems don't get fixed. As always, make sure you backup any personal data. Things can still go wrong from a fresh install too.

I'm running the beta on a laptop and fully intend to update to the final release using the update manager.

Okay thats what I thought. I think I might take the same approach and update the beta through the update manager once full release is out. I'll have all my personal data backed up on a flash drive and media on an ext hdd so I should be good to go in case anything goes wrong...