Ubuntu Desktop
I've been using Ubtuntu as my main works desktop for about 12 months now, here's how it's panned out.

But first, a bit of history.

I started out in life on PC's, venomously opposed to the mainstream alternative of Apple Macs. This all changed when I started developing professionally - I was introduced to BBEdit, Jonathan Ives had started making Apple truly beautiful, I was sold.

And so I used Apple for the next 6 years or so (in fact I still do, at home, for both general use and programming work).

In my current place of employment, I was working on a Mac Mini (1.25ghz, 1GB RAM) which suited my needs pretty much perfectly - I didn't need extensive processing power, after all. However, as work picked up, the need for more screen space, in the form of 2 screens, became increasingly attractive.

It was thing, coupled with my ever expanding use of the command line, that made me consider installing a Linux Desktop on something....so I dug out an old Apple G4 computer and hunted round for a user-friendly, PPC compatible Linux install. ubuntu seemed to tick most of my boxes.

I quickly found myself settling in to the whole Linux experience, after all it's a very similar interface to Apple's Aqua, the only real difference was the tools I was using.

After trying quite a few applications, I opted for Bluefish as my editor, purely because it talked natively to the mounted filesystems from FTP and SSH. I really wanted Quantas to support this, as it has lots of nice programming features, alas it was not to be.

The only issue I had using ubuntu on the Mac box was the Power PC chipset - there was no Flash support for it, meaning my web experience wasn't quite as funky as it could be...this was no biggy though, I was only using the install as an experiment.

It was enough, I was sold...so I did a fresh install on a P4 2.8ghz with 2.5GB Ram. The reason I went for so much Ram is because I wanted to run Windows XP as a virtual machine within ubuntu.

I installed 6.06, as this was the latest version at the time. However, I'm now running 7.04, using a substantially sized (around 700mb) but otherwise automatic upgrade within the system to bring me screaming into the latest version.

The few problems I had with 6.06 - mainly lack of dual monitor support, have been cleared up in 7.04. I now have two monitors running no problems at all, whereas I previously had to fudge TwinView into working, and given my screens were slightly difference resolutions, meant one screen 'lost' about 50pixels from the bottom.

Whilst I have to admit to still preferring developing and generally using Apple Macs, I'm more than happy with my move to ubuntu at work, and unless the boss is willing to buy me a MacPro, I've no plans to head back to the Mac Mini any time soon. It does have to be said, however, that since Apple went to Intel, the ability to run native XP apps via VMWare Fusion or Parallels makes even a self funded move back seem attractive :)