[NCLUG] Debian Question

[David Braley]

I have some noob questions I need some insight on from the Debian guru's 
on the list.... I will try and explain this as best I can.

I installed Debian "Testing" on my system here at home. I have got it 
just the way I want it. Minimal install with fluxbox and a few other 
apps to make it lean. I also changed the "/etc/apt/sources.list" file to 
say "testing" everywhere it used to said "lenny."

I typically do an "apt-get update," "apt-get upgrade," "apt-get 
dist-upgrade," and an "apt-get clean" at least once a week to keep it up 
to date.

So my first question is how long will I get away with this? Is it 
possible to keep my new Debian "testing" system this way? Or is there 
some time in the future when I will need to re-install to get an updated 
system?

The reason I ask this is partly the reason I moved to Debian in the 
first place. I have used Linux for years now for all my computing needs. 
But what I hate about Linux is the typical one year or less release 
cycles that force you to upgrade your system. In the past, I would 
upgrade my system every other release cycle of whatever distro I 
happened to be using. I did this because most of the major distro 
companies stop supporting their older versions with security updates, or 
at least, that is what I believed.

I would prefer to never do another major upgrade that involves a 
complete re-install, or at least only need to do it every 4 or 5 years 
if possible.

So, by keeping my sources.list file "testing," does that keep me up to 
date without a full re-install even after a few years?

Thanks again for listening. Take care all!

David