As I was trying to decide which distro to install on my little Linux testing box I started thinking about the linux vs. windows debate again. I’ve covered the topic a little in other articles, but at this point I think that I am very comfortable with where I am vis-a-vi how I use computers.

First – I tried a number of different distros on my new experimental machine, but for one reason or another I trashed them and installed a very minimal debian system and got what else I needed with apt-get. Gentoo is just too much, I have nothing nice to say about the new Suse ( or should I say Novell personal linux ), and RedHat is just so last decade….

Anyway Debian it is, and since I didn’t want X installed it was painless.

And that brings us to my thoughts on the linux v. Windows question. I don’t like Linux when it tries to be a desktop – I know, many people prefer it to Windows or OSX as a desktop OS – about half the developers here at D2 Oxford use Linux ( Mepis ) desktops – but it’s not for me. I used Linux as my desktop OS for a year, and in the end I was happier with Windows.

Lets face it, the gimp is no photoshop. There is no Final Cut for Linux. No Acid.

Now, with all of that being said, I never want to have to admin a Windows webserver. We run a half dozen Red Hat ES servers and Linux excels as a webserver, mailserver, database server, firewall, etc. but I would just rather have a different desktop OS and shell into them as needed.

Now if I could just get a Dual G5 so I could Add OSX to the mix….