Re: Need newer software that included with stable (that isn't at backports.org)
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On 07/27/07 12:26, Tim Hull wrote:
> I'm currently trying out both Debian and Ubuntu on my MacBook to see which
> one I prefer.
> Right now, I'm currently liking Debian better - the stability seems better,
> and it seems easier to customize
> - but I need to run software that's newer than what's in etch (not for a
> lust for bleeding-edge, but simply for the reason
> that my MacBook won't suspend or do proper power management in any kernel
> older than 2.6.22). I also want to be
> able to get updated packages such as the newest Firefox...er..Iceweasel
> (still hate that name, would prefer something
> less silly).
>
> I know the easy Debian solution is to run testing/unstable - it seems like
> most people do. However, then you lose the advantage of
> stability. I actually tried testing and unstable, but found a critical bug
> pertaining to my video card - my system likes to reboot on suspend with the
> new Xorg drivers (yes, dutifully reported it to BTS). For this reason, I
> figure I'll confine Lenny/Sid to a VM or chroot, and I've been looking into
> backports. However, backports.org doesn't seem to have what I need (it only
> has 2.6.21 kernel, doesn't have the new acpi-support, not to mention some
> extra gstreamer plugins I wanted). What would be the ideal solution for
> me? Is there a reliable way to roll my own backports using apt to pull in
> dependencies? Can I build from Sid sources on an as-needed basis? I've
> come across a tool called "apt-build" which pulls down dependencies and
> builds from source - is it what I need? What should I put in my sources.list
> ?
deb-src ftp://mirrors.kernel.org/debian unstable main \
contrib non-free
> On a side note, I will say that the one area I think FOSS lags behind
> Windows and Mac is in updating individual system components. I LIKE being
> able to update a few things without hackish solutions (i.e. build from
> source tarballs) or updating my whole system. You can do it easily on
> Mac/Windows, but it's quite difficult and unreliable on nearly every
> distribution.
This is the price you pay for Freedom.
> I think Debian really ought to look into making backports an
> official project and integrating it into the stable release as a way to get
> updates on an as-needed basis. It may even be an interesting idea to do
> point releases of stable with some backports included. Has this ever been
> discussed? It seems a lot better than simply speeding up the release
> cycle...
That would be the "volatile" branch. Since I run unstable, I have
no need for it, but Google might have some answers. If not, ask
debian-devel.
- --
Ron Johnson, Jr.
Jefferson LA USA
Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day.
Hit him with a fish, and he goes away for good!
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