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Re: New Guy asks: I want to run Squeeze, except for a few particular things...





On Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 12:07 PM, Wolodja Wentland <babilen@gmail.com> wrote:
On Thu, Jun 02, 2011 at 15:41 -0500, Paul Johnson wrote:
> I want to run the stable distribution--Squeeze--except I need newer
> versions of some key programs I use in my work, like LyX and R.  And
> since the kernel included with Squeeze crashes when I unplug the USB
> headset, I need to run a newer kernel that has a patch for that
> problem.   (I'm afraid of testing because it does not appear it ever
> pauses for a "snapshot."  If Debian testing had "freeze points" like
> "Fedora 14" or "Ubuntu 11.04" or such, I would probably run testing.
> But testing never pauses for a mostly working snapshot. Right?)

I summarised a couple of methods to obtain newer software on stable releases
in [0] and you can, for example, easily install a newer kernel from backports.

Both LyX and R might be harder to upgrade, but it is probably a good idea to
search for backports too or attempt the "ssb" (simple sid backports) method
outlined in the referenced mail. That might or might not be an easy thing to
do, which depends entirely on the dependencies of these packages. I would,
however, strongly advise against mixing stable and testing/unstable as this
will just lead to madness.

If all this doesn't work out for you, you might still want to try running
Wheezy, which will require more work but gives you access to newer software.
It is hard to find a good balance and you have to take this decision yourself.
If you are interested in pursuing this approach I would recommend to read [1]
or to pop into #debian-next on irc.oftc.net to discuss your needs.

[0] http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2010/05/msg01325.html
[1] http://wiki.debian.org/DebianUnstable

Well, another method is to use apt pinning, no? That way you can run stable but use testing or unstable packages when needed. It is very easy to do. There are many pinning howtos which can be easily found, basically you have stable, testing and unstable in your sources.list, then create an apt prefs file telling apt what the priority is for each.
 
--
Thomas Milne


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