Наскільки я памятаю, у релізі 8.10 драйвер Атерос знаходиться на диску з Убунтою, і по замовчуванню не ставиться, то ж попробуйте оновитися з СД, ось виклад з особливостей релізу і відомі проблеми -
Atheros ath5k wireless driver not enabled by default
The version of the ath5k driver for Atheros wireless devices included in Linux 2.6.27 interferes with the use of the madwifi driver for some wireless devices and as a result has been disabled by default. Many Atheros chipsets will work correctly with the madwifi driver, but some newer chipsets may not, and the madwifi driver may not work with WPA authentication. If you have an Atheros device that does not work with madwifi, you will want to install the linux-backports-modules-intrepid-generic package, which includes an updated version of the ath5k driver. While not installed by default, this linux-backports-modules-intrepid-generic package is included on the Ubuntu 8.10 CD and DVD images for ease of installation.
Треба встановити linux-backports-modules-intrepid-generic package який і знаходиться на СД з Убунтою, і тоді все повинно запрацювати як належить...