Re: mixing unstable with testing just for nvidia: good practices?

["H.S." <hs.samix@gmail.com>]

Jonathan Kaye wrote:
<SNIP>
> particular package was already unstable by an earlier choice). To get the
> unstable version I do this:
> #aptitude -t unstable install <name of package>
> This is called "pinning", I believe.
> Works for me.
> Cheers,
> Jonathan


Ah, the pinning. I took your example and tweaked it a bit (after 
consulting http://wiki.debian.org/AptPreferences) and now have this:
--------------------------------------------------------------
$> cat /etc/apt/apt.conf
APT::Authentication::TrustCDROM "true";
Acquire::::Proxy "false";
APT::Default-Release "testing";
$> cat /etc/apt/preferences
Package: *
Pin: release o=Debian,a=testing
Pin-Priority: 900

Package: *
Pin: release o=Debian,a=unstable
Pin-Priority: 300

$>
--------------------------------------------------------------


And I also have unstable sources in my sources.list in otherwise testing 
sources. I have also installed nvidia related stuff from unstable. Now, 
given above preferences, I get this if I try safe-upgrade:
--------------------------------------------------------------
$> sudo aptitude -dV safe-upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Reading extended state information
Initializing package states... Done
Reading task descriptions... Done
Resolving dependencies...
The following packages have been kept back:
  cpp-3.4  gcc-3.4  gcc-3.4-base
The following packages will be upgraded:
  libbtutil-utils [0.0.19+p4.2340-1 -> 0.0.19+p4.2340-1.1]  libbtutil0 
[0.0.19+p4.2340-1 -> 0.0.19+p4.2340-1.1]
  ntp [1:4.2.4p4+dfsg-5 -> 1:4.2.4p4+dfsg-6]  ntpdate [1:4.2.4p4+dfsg-5 
-> 1:4.2.4p4+dfsg-6]
  nvidia-kernel-source [169.12-4 -> 173.14.09-1]
The following packages are RECOMMENDED but will NOT be installed:
  nvidia-glx
5 packages upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 3 not upgraded.
Need to get 5589kB of archives. After unpacking 94.2kB will be freed.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n/?]
Writing extended state information... Done
Get:1 http://gulus.usherbrooke.ca unstable/main libbtutil0 
0.0.19+p4.2340-1.1 [113kB]
Get:2 http://gulus.usherbrooke.ca unstable/main libbtutil-utils 
0.0.19+p4.2340-1.1 [6082B]
Get:3 http://gulus.usherbrooke.ca unstable/main ntp 1:4.2.4p4+dfsg-6 [434kB]
Get:4 http://gulus.usherbrooke.ca unstable/main ntpdate 1:4.2.4p4+dfsg-6 
[59.6kB]
Get:5 http://gulus.usherbrooke.ca unstable/non-free nvidia-kernel-source 
173.14.09-1 [4976kB]
Fetched 5589kB in 10s (551kB/s)
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Reading extended state information
Initializing package states... Done
Reading task descriptions... Done
--------------------------------------------------------------

So, how come I am still getting ntp and ntpdate from unstable? I don't 
think they are related to nvidia. What am I missing here? Is it possible 
that while installing nvidia I also pulled some other packages that were 
in unstable (I didn't have preferences file earlier)?

thanks,
->HS