I noticed that there is a new version of mint. If I install the update will I have to reinstall all of my software or will it retain my previous settings?

I've always wondered about the updates myself. I wonder if it works the same for all distros.

Many Linux distros offer some type of upgrade path. The process varies from distro to distro (and sometimes release to release within a distro). The success you'll have depends on how much has changed in the new release. As long as you have everything backed up and you must move to the new release, you have nothing to lose by trying the upgrade path. If you run into problems, you can always do a fresh install of the new version.

I found this nice little document on the linuxmint site.

Fedora releases a new version every 6-7 months. Personally, I skip a version or two before upgrading to a new release and usually stick with the version I have until updates are no longer available. I'm on even numbers now. I always go ahead and do a fresh install (you can keep most of the custom configurations for your apps *home folder*, even though you have to install them fresh).

Some Linux distros are so called "rolling" distributions, which are continuously updated, with no release cycle. This approach has limitations, considering technology moves quickly in the Linux world. Sometimes, you just need to do a fresh install.

That's more or less the answer i was looking for, i backed everything up a day or two back so I'm ahead of the game. Thanks, I guess I'll go for it.

From reading through that article on the mint site, like Fedora, mint's release cycle is 6 months but they support a given release for 18 months. There is really no need to upgrade to a new release every 6 months. Very few do.

The only thing that forces me to upgrade early in when a new release contains some kind of wizbang technology or a new version of an app that's not going to be provided in my current version. Sometimes, that can work against you. New wizbang technology (like a new version of a DE) can take a couple of releases to get the kinks out and mature.

I thought I'd do it mainly for the experience and partly because when I run the update manager it sometimes gives me errors and won't update some things. I figured this will start everything clean. Now that I know how to back my software and data up it shouldn't be a problem. The best way to learn a system (for me at least) is to become familiar with as much as possible.
And I still have the mint 10 DVD so it the next version doesn't work out I'll just put 10 back. I still have 3 programs that I paid for on Windows that keep me using it, two are minor (Fit day and IDaily Diary) and I think I can get them to work using Wine, the third, turbocad, might not be so easy. If not for those, my linux computer would be all spiffyed up (better video board and a working CD/DVD drive) and become my main computer and my faithful old Compaq would be moved to the living room and used to watch netflix movies. There is still a lot I don't know about Linux, enough that I don't consider myself proficient yet, but I know enough to know it's lightyears ahead of Windows in every way. Thanks for your help so far, it's been invaluable to me.

@ GnuTux,
I am a rolling distro user.
I have only experience with Gentoo so I don't know about other rolling distro's.
As far as keeping up with evolving technology is concerned: KDE released 4.6.3 on may 6th.
Gentoo had the "ebuilds" available on may 8 or9.
And I upgraded the whole thing w/o any problems.
People should use a separate partition for /home.
Most distro's will allow you to install w/o clobbering /home.
Gerard.