[nbouscal]

For my boxes I'm at the point of striking a middle ground. I use system versions of libraries wherever possible, but in many cases I compile the actual applications from source. The package manager tends to be too many versions behind, and a lot of the software I use is in active enough development that the difference is actually of significant importance. If the package managers updated more quickly, I'd use them.

Edit: Also, the package managers have an awful habit of installing dependencies that are not actually dependencies. Drives me up a wall.