Proposed updates on 10.10?

To answer your specific question about the kernel proposed updates - the last main update for the kernel was v2.6.35-32.67. A slight increment was proposed at the end of March but was not pushed into the main repositories when the support date completed.

The change was relatively small - thus, unless you are looking for those specific fixes, I would stay with the stable and most widely tested kernel in the main repository.

Now that the support arrangements for maverick has been removed, the April 2012 archives is a good reference for the last remaining changes to maverick.

There can be a small number of proposed updates that miss the push to main - that is to be expected. If you look at the lp number [i.e. the launchpad reference] for the bug fix in question (look at the change log in update-manager), it usually gives a good indication how far it moved through the testing process before being pushed.

In summary - proposed repository was for testing. These updates did not complete their testing process before the support arrangements completed. You only need to update to specific packages if you were looking for a specific bug-fix that a proposed package may have contained.

You can always go back

When using the "proposed updates" repository, it's a bit like using a beta application. It often works but it could crash too.

Using your package manager, you can always deactivate the "proposed updates" repository and downgrade back your application to the one in the stable repositories. Furthermore regarding the kernel, unless it is the exact same version, it will be installed in parallel of the current one. So in case you found that the proposed kernel update crashes, you can still go back to the previous one by selecting it upon boot. Or you can just downgrade it, just like other application.

To downgrade an application using Synaptic, click the application and select "Force Version" (Ctrl+E) in the Package menu. From the dropdown box, select the version you want to use.

Final thoughts

If you want to try this update because you need a correction or new feature that is listed in the change log, then try the proposed update. If not, then I would recommend not to update.

Recommandation: I would strinlgy advise you to migrate to a supported release of Ubuntu. It means you get security updates.

You are correct that 10.10 support has ended. If you want security updates and bug fixes that are "official" or have undergone the usual testing and vetting processes you simply have to upgrade or change to a different version of Ubuntu.

This is pretty much the only advice I (or anybody else) can advise here.

Proposed-updates are never intended to be installed in a big group just like you would with normal updates. You only cherry-pick a specific update from proposed-updates when you are suffering a specific problem that the update is supposed to fix, and you want to help with the testing of that fix before the fix becomes "official" (and deal with the consequences if it introduces new bugs). Otherwise, you leave them well alone and just wait for official fixes through "updates".

Since your Ubuntu is not supported, I'm even more confused about why you think you want to install these proposed-updates, since these updates have also long-since become abandoned, having never made it into any official updates. They may have never made it because they introduced too many new bugs, or maybe they were just the victims of bad timing. They may or may not make your system even more broken than it already is, especially if you install them indiscriminately. Or one of them might, by pure chance, fix some issue you were experiencing. But they will not be a substitute for using a version of Ubuntu that is not abandoned.