up2date vs rawhide vs ISOs

[Ben Hsu]

Hi

I have some questions about the new distribution model.

With the new development model, is "up2date" the recommended way to get
new software?

I am somewhat concerned about setting "up2date" to run as a cron job and
waking up to find my system nuked. Should I back up my system before
running "up2date"? May I assume the software in the up2date channel has
gone through some minimum screening for howlers like deleting all your
mail? Or would it be better for me to wait for the new ISOs?

I imagine from time to time a change to (I'm guessing here) gcc or libc
may require the whole distro to be reinstalled. If this is true, how
will it be handled?

Thanks!