Pinning is a process that allows you to remain on a stable release of Ubuntu (or any other debian system) while grabbing packages from a more recent version. Commands Used: 1) Add in repos: sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list Example1: deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic main restricted universe multiverse deb http://packages.geexbox.org/ karmic main 2) Change Cache limit: 1000000 = 1MB, Use to avoid 'out of room' error sudo gedit /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/99cache Example2: APT::Cache-Limit "125000000"; 3) Pinning sudo gedit /etc/apt/preferences Example3: Package: * Pin: release a = maverick Pin-Priority: 800 Package: * Pin: release a = karmic Pin-Priority: 600 4) Set Default Distro Version sudo gedit /etc/apt/apt.conf Example4: APT::Default-Release "maverick"; 5) Update sudo apt-get update 6) Install using either apt-get or aptitude Sample1: sudo apt-get install package/karmic Sample2: sudo apt-get install package -t karmic Source List Generator http://repogen.simplylinux.ch/ More on Pinning https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PinningHowto http://jaqque.sbih.org/kplug/apt-pinning.html http://edin.no-ip.com/content/fast-and-safe-upgrade-debian-sid-stable-or-testing