[plug] Linux Home vs Linux Server.?

[Senectus .]

On Sat, 8 Jan 2005 07:58:56 +0800, James Elliott
<James.Elliott at wn.com.au> wrote:
> This is probably a silly question, but forgive me as I have not used Linux
> for a few years now, but want to set up a Linux machine ASAP, or should I
> say ASAFP (As Soon As Finances Permit)
Whats holding you back? I'll legally burn a free CD for you today if
you want ;-)

> 
> M$ currently has Windows XP Home, Win Xp Pro, and Win Server 2003 as its
> principle operating systems.  Am I right in saying that there is essentially
> only one Linux and the user configures it the way he/she wants it? - no Home
> version, Pro version , or Server version?
The primary difference between XP Pro and XP Home is that XP home is a
"cut down version" of XP Pro (so they charge less for home than they
do for Pro, and you get less features in home), This is done for
several reasons the largest being that MS is a monopoly and they wish
to strangle every last cent out of their customers.

Linux is free, so there is no "cut down version".
There are however different distro's and within distros you have
different releases.
The different releases generally show either stability/security
changes or just plain upgrades.
 

> 
> I understand that there are many distributions of Linux:  Red Hat; Debian;
> Mandrake; etc - I am not talking about the different distributions, but
> rather that we don't have, for example,  a Debian Home,  Debian Pro,  Debian
> Server ... do we?  Is it true that Debian is just Debian and you can set it
> up for home use, commercial use or on a Server?
Correct.
Linux is a very different sort of beast from Windows, and in all
reality the only difference between my desktop install of Ubuntu
(Debian) and my server install is the sort of hardware I use fro the
server, and that I've installed different applications on both.
Thats it.

Having said that, some distros server better as desktops than they do
as servers. Mostly though this is only a concern for beginners and
"newbies".
If your newish then I'd start out by sticking to a "desktop distro"
for desktop/laptop use and use a "server distro" for the server.
I'tll be easier on your learning curve and after your happy with your
abilities you wont need anyone to suggest what distro to use :-)

-- 
Ubuntu Warty 4.10