like not doing anything, just a spare laptop in case i ever need one, what if i use it years after i installed debian on it?? i would have to update like 300 packages and would take a lot??
My record is 4 years without update. I had to upgrade every version instead of jumping directly to the latest because I read this is how it is done.
This worked for Debian flawlessly. Another Laptop with Arch Linux died after updating a 2 years old system.
The thing is.... The upgrade path degrades. Once one is 3 or more major versions behind, upgrading becomes technically challenging. (I have done this a few times....) It is better to just reinstall.
That said, a Debian system that works won't just stop working. My Raspberry Pi 2 has no issues since the initial install.
Professionally, it is better to have a fast recovery path. PXE boot, Debian preseed, a config management system (Ansible, Puppet, etc) and local caches and you can be set in 10 minutes. (After years of setting all of that up.)
it is absolutely recommended to keep any system that has access to the internet up to date. i don't know why people keep saying it isn't
If you let the laptop sit for years, the battery will be dead and there is a small chance that the SSD may be corrupted. They are only rated to retain data for a year without power.
Debian will have updates, but apart from the browser, it will typically only be security and bug fix updates.
it would be fine. web browser might be out of date by the time you fire it up again, but that might not be relevant for you
I’ve had small Debian servers such as a RaspPi or a NUC that I’ve never updated after the initial setup and they were still working perfectly when I finally turned them off to move. If you don’t want to update a Linux system, don’t. Maybe setup auto security updates if it’s going to be exposed to the raw internet and running some open servers.
