Upgrading programs

[Neil Winchurst]

I am getting used to the Kubuntu (= Debian) method of getting upgrades
to some of the programs on my computer. Much easier than the rpm files I
used to use with Mandriva.

I am wondering about the best way to upgrade some of the programs which
never seem to change. I am running Edgy, and a simple example is
python. When I installed Edgy I got version 2.4.4 of python. I see now
that the latest version is 2.5. However I never see that come up as a
choice when I am told that there are some upgrades available. 

What is the best way to upgrade please anyone? Should I download the
tar file and extract it? Or do I need to go through the make, make
install dance?

Thanks

Neil Winchurst