Like GetDeb? Now you can get their packages from a repo

One of the best ways to get updated software for Ubuntu Linux, as well as other Debian-based distros, is from GetDeb.net. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used their packages to get an update that isn’t available from official Ubuntu repositories or PPA’s.

They’ve recently launched an updated site for users of Ubuntu 9.04 and newer,  and one of the great new benefits is that they now have a repository you can add to your sources.list. You can either manually add their repo and key, or you can do it even more easily by downloading their getdeb package which will automatically add their repo and repo’s PGP signing key.

If you’re needing software for older versions of Ubuntu, or want to use the familiar website interface you already know and love, you can use their legacy website that remembers all of the users who signed up with them.

Unfortunately, if you have a free account with their old site you’ll need to create a new account to use their new site. I used their contact form to email the devs about not being able to log in, and Vadim Peretokin informed me that he doesn’t believe the user database was migrated to the new site. It may be a pain to have to create a new account, but it is free, and it only takes a few minutes to create the account and validate it from the email they’ll send you.

Either way, you’ll definitely want to check out the new GetDeb website and repository. It will make your life easier as you try to use newer versions of software than is in the official repositories and you won’t have to compile any code to use them, either.