Due to the release cycle i think many folk [like me] store their data
on a remote drive and then have a list of all their customisation in a
text file. Each install wipes the disk. There is then no fear of
deleting valuable data and the text file list allows one to install a
new version quite quickly.

I do annual April updates - as i find the LTS in the second year
rather out of date. Six monthly is too frequent for me and bi-annual
not frequent enough.

Forgot to mention - i think folk do find 64 bit has a few problems.
Have you tried 8.10 32 bit? I haven't even bothered with 64 bit.

I installed 8.10 64 bit on a Dell Optiplex 330 64 bit processor and had
a few problems. One in particular was installing Skype. There were
some graphic card issues also. I then installed the 32 bit version and
it's working like a charm. I'm new at Linux and it took a while to
get everything working and to my liking. It would be very painfull if I
had to reinstall and loose my configuration and added programs. I'm
going to have to do some research on what files to back up and how to
create a text file of my customization.

Interesting post. I was wondering what it would be like updating to a
newer version and if it was like Windows updates.

The thing is if you want to you could use LTS. But then install the
newer versions of the software you like to use so you're up todate by
compiling all the apps. This takes time and it is easier to install a
new release with all updates.

If you're keen... and have a spare machine - to KNOW linux you can
build your own system in Gentoo or Linux from Scratch [LFS]. One of my
plans... someday! if too many other things don't get in the way. But
someone told me it takes a few months of spare time to do it. Hence
why folk use distro releases. Some folk say well worth the effort to
KNOW linux but then revert back to releases.

The best way to do it, is to have a separate partition for your /home
directory.
This way you don't have to worry about your settings and files.
Of course it doesn't hurt to back up your /home directory.