kernel.org kernels on Debian

It's pretty easy to keep up to date with 2.6.x.y on Debian.

sudo apt-get install ketchup make-kpkg

Keep an unpacked copy of a recent version in your home directory, then:

cd linux-*
ketchup -r
make oldconfig
make-kpkg --rootcmd fakeroot clean
make-kpkg --rootcmd fakeroot kernel_image 
cd ..

and sudo dpkg -i to install the new kernel package.

Haven't tried this on Ubuntu.