thats good news i was about to post that a lot of stuff learned in Linux is retrospective .
Now just a little on updates. I think i will add it to my getting started post
https://linux.org/threads/getting-started-point-zero-you-got-windows-on-pc.27641/post-84769 please disagree or suggest edits
updates: there are at least three types
1) you have a software package, to which there is no new releleasease but that there are security updates to that single package. They are called patches. in slackware they are listed eg :
https://mirrors.slackware.com/slackware/slackware64-14.2/patches/packages/
in this case you leave the original package as it is, but also install the patch, then all is good .
2) a release of a new version of a package. eg clamav ; your package os 0.99 but there is a newer one 0.102.2 . in this case its mainly worrying about dependencies which a packge uses and whether other packages rely on this particular dep.
3) A complete update from one version of your OS to another. generally you have to be very careful. In slackware case they have config entries that say " the next lines should be commented out and if you agree with us comment them out" . But the significant lines are not commented out. !! meaning either the maintainers have no common sense or are barking. What would happen if the lines were not commented out might be this: old kernels are wiped before new ones. Thus if anything goes wrong you end up with no kernel and up the creak without a paddle !