I am new to linux and antiX.
In Synaptic Package Manager, there are a number of installed programs that have upgrades available. Is it a good idea to upgrade all of these on a regular basis? Some have an orange dot next to them--what does this mean?

When I install, I nearly always do an apt-get update - then an apt-get upgrade, if I want the latest programs.

(I don't use synaptic, so can't help with the orange dots.)

Those are"new" packages there weren't in the list of available packages the last time you run Synaptic.

You can also see them in the New in repository filter in the Status view:

I use apt-get also.

To answer your question, yes it is better to upgrade all of your applications. Upgrades in Linux will generally not bloat your applications but rather fix some bugs and maybe add some features. I would recomend you do.

Michel

Thanks for the advice. I will proceed with updating.