State of the art: Tkinter, Tk 8.5, Tix?

[excord80]

Does Python work with Tk 8.5? I'm manually installing my own Python
2.6.1 (separate from my system's Python 2.5.2), and am about to
install my own Tcl/Tk 8.5 but am unsure how to make them talk to
eachother. Should I install Tk first? If I put Tk into my home
directory (under "~/opt" most likely), is there some configure option
I need to pass Python to tell it where to find my Tk?

Also, I see that Python comes with Tix. Was Tix supposed to be
something to make up for what was lacking in Tk prior to its 8.5
release? Is Tix here to stay, or has it been eclipsed by what comes
with Tk 8.5 OOTB?