BTW, how come www.python.org no longer provides precompiled (contributed) binaries for the various OSes out there ? The FTP server only has these for Python <= 1.5.2.

There are some binaries for newer versions, mostly Linux RPMs, but these are in different places. I agree the FTP download area is a mess. I propose to give up on the FTP area and start over on the new Zope-based web server, if and when it's ready. Not enough people are helping out, so it's going slowly. --Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)