> What I've found is that each time I install an update - or more likely, install a new tool - there's a chance it will be blocked by something or cause a probl

> What I've found is that each time I install an update - or more likely, install a new tool - there's a chance it will be blocked by something or cause a problem with something else, and I'll have to debug it for an hour or two before I can get back to what I was doing Ah, I understand where you're coming from now. For myself, I can usually install most things I need directly from apt-get using the OS's built-in repositories. This route seems to take care of any dependency issues without manual intervention. Although if you're using third-party repos, or installing software outside a package manager context, I can see how that would increase the chance of niggles. My only remark there would be to focus on distros which emphasise a well-curated set of reliable packages out of the box, designed to be compatible with one another (LTS releases, or even BSD if you are open to it).