***Maybe*** interesting background...

People think of NASA folks as, well, rocket scientists, but my experience when we lived just down the coast in Florida was entirely the opposite. When they ended the lunar landings, & budgets & priorities were cut, lots & lots of the best & brightest got out while they could move to high paying jobs/careers -- they especially left the NASA facilities in Florida, which were built in a swampy part of Florida where frankly, historically no one ever wanted to live. The folks that were left were often those that were suited to gov bureaucracies &/or couldn't find a better job elsewhere. Dealt with NASA, worked with ex-NASA people, knew several ex-NASA folks, & in most cases the myths & legends were just that.

http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2225129/nasa-laptop-containing-sensitive-data-stolen

Nasa has lost a laptop full of sensitive information, placing thousands of the space agency's employees and contractors at risk, according to reports.

The laptop was stolen from a Nasa worker's car and contains a slew of personal information, including employees' social security numbers, according to Reuters.

The theft is doubly dangerous as the information stored on the laptop is not encrypted, meaning the thief could easily access it.

Personal and financial information is a high value item on many cyber black markets, as it allows crooks to craft more complex and effective attacks.

http://www.techworld.com.au/article/421124/one_laptop_per_child_australia_set_launch_one_education_program/

One Laptop Per Child Australia set to launch 'One Education' program
Organisation seeks to create educational ecosystem around Linux-based OLPC XO laptops
to low socio-economic status (SES) primary schools in Australia. The US-based One Laptop Per Child project launched in January 2005. The OLPC XO-1.75 laptop is based on an ARM processor and runs 'Sugar' — an easy-to-use operating system based on the Linux kernel and designed to be kid-friendly

Updates can deliver security, performance and bug fixes, or just a whole new set of bugs!
Doesn't matter if it's desktop or laptop, other than that laptop drivers are often customized and "common" updates may not be usable.

In Order of importance:
1. Antivirus - MUST update, if you no longer get updates and don't want to pay, then get a free one!
2. MS/Windowsupdate - generally a MUST, though a few updates have been problematic. Also worth checking the "optional updates" for anything relevant.
3. Internet facing software of any type - eg. Quicktime, Adobe Reader, Real player - you can also choose to do without (eg. use Foxit reader to read PDF, instead of Adobe).

I'd generally apply any video/sound/LAN/WLAN updates as they become available.

NB. Since BIOS and DVD/RW "updates" are actually device flash loads which cannot be fixed by a re-install if they go wrong, excercise caution with those, unless you have an issue. One common BIOS update is for "security freeze lock", which prevents malicious use of drive security features (while also preventing any intentional use of those features).

Just after my Laptop turned 1, I had to update the graphics drivers, as I do alot of Beta testing and gaming on all my PCs. Dell had a new support center up by then and it was easy to have them check my Laptop and install the updates I needed. HP might have something similar. Still amazing how they get so much in a little 17" case!

As for M$, I do custom install!!!!!!!

Suki

thanks a lot for the replies, expecially to Bubby for your thorough answer!

Drivers, like any software can have bugs. Also over time, sometimes incompatibilities with new applications or other drivers can surface. New features may be added, and additional performance or memory savings obtained by removing unnecessary code, or even rewriting altogether (sometimes just using an updated compiler to recompile the old code without any changes can result in performance and stability improvements).

Most laptop vendors are generally very conservative in releasing changes often testing the updates for weeks or months, before they appear on the website for download, and generally are quite stable.

I generally only update if I am having problems, or the new drivers include improvements that are likely to impact my experience using the laptop.

Usually, I am much more concerned with the Microsoft updates that get squeezed out on a rigid timeframe on "Patch Tuesday" each month. As a rule, you will miss out if you simply refuse to update - but always approach updates with care and common sense.

mostly keep an eye on the oem website, but I think it'll be more bios updates, but one never knows.

Ok, i have seen recently this software: http://www.drivershq.com/Home.aspx on another freeware blog(it was a mistake, the author thought, it was freewware, but corrected his mistake now).

and i was thinking, are updates for drivers only for desktop PCs or also necessary for laptops?
I am not a gamer, dont play a single game on my laptop, though its a completely new one (HP, with Vista home premium, and 2 GB Ram, and well, a chip from Intel, and 2 x 160 GB harddrives.)
i mainly use it for of course, browsing, and making slideshows, and sometimes cutting vids. and watching lots of tv shows on it.

are updates on the graphic chips and the rest of drivers as necessary as e.g. on desktop computers?