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Comment by jvc26 | Hacker News Reader

I found it interesting 'I got my hands on a PC to use as a web server (thanks Andrea!). Before I could get started on it though, I needed an operating system to install' ... but the version installed was Ubuntu Desktop, rather than Server ...?

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The server version is not very "user-friendly" - it doesn't even have X installed. They both have access to the same set of packages to install afterwards. So it's a lot easier to start with the Desktop version and then add some of the "server" packages, than it would be to start with the server version and install X, Unity, etc. afterward.

Many people use servers without X and with a configuration that emphasises server tasks and security. They tend to access the server using ssh or other remote protocols. The choice of a graphical distribution did strike me as a little odd, as did the choice of a distribution with a support life measured in months.

But, linux is about choice!

Heh, author is brand new to Linux, may not even be aware there is a such thing as GUI-less server OSes.

Give him a year and he'll be running a dev box with minimal Arch + Xmonad base and multiple Ubuntu Servers in KVM.

You're wrong about that.

>... these impressions come from someone who’s used mostly Windows at work and Mac at home. Sure, there’s a sprinkling of Solaris, IRIX, and Linux mixed in there, but I’ve never used Ubuntu, haven’t used any distribution of Linux in quite some time ...

The author seems to be using it to prototype a research project as quickly as possible.

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