[cyberpunk5000]

HEADLINE: separate user "apps" from system "packages"

DESCRIPTION: In my use cases, which I think are common, I want a stable base operating system and user interface, but for the applications I work with every day (browser, compiler, office suite, etc.) to be cutting edge.

My dream is to separate packages into two tiers with different update policies, similar to the Android and Apple app stores, and for that matter BSD ports. Platform software like the kernel, system libc, X11, and desktop environments release and update like stable. "Apps" like Firefox and LibreOffice are easily installed and updated on a rolling basis.

I know that I can achieve this now with a custom backports and apt pinning config, but that's more of a low-level project than I'm envisioning. My request is for something that's more of a newbie-friendly point-and-click sort of thing.