I am a Java 7 AI developer running a multi-monitor development desktop, a server for svn / jenkins continuous integration, an alpha production server, and two linux laptops. I also have a Windows 7 desktop and laptop for testing, and network everything with Samba. Computers range from single core 512MB RAM to four-core 16GB RAM. I use cron jobs and rsync for cross-server backups and also replicate the most important files on Ubuntu One - the cloud backup service.
Lubuntu is fastest for my Java development. I keep 7 virtual desktops on dual monitors and like the familiar menus and taskbars for application switching and monitoring. Years ago I was a Windows NT developer but Linux is much cheaper and much easier to debug via open source. In the last decade I have used Red Hat, SUSE, KDE, Gnome and Ubuntu. I have only one machine left to convert from Ubuntu to Lubuntu with a new install.
Arch because:
- It's simple, you only install what you need
- Don't have to upgrade ever 6 months
- Software in the repos is always up to date
- The wiki is extremely helpful and the community is smart
Scrotwm because:
- Tiling WMs are just more productive to me
- It is configured with a plain text file
- It has vim-like keybindings by default
- It behaves the way my mind works (much like XMonad but without the Haskell)
This setup is fast and nimble and super productive to me, someone who tries to avoid the mouse as much as possible.
I wrote a more detailed post about my setup here: http://mikethecoder.com/post/10563094906/my-minimalist-setup
I currently use Ubuntu 10.04 LTS but will be switching to Mac OS X Lion here in the coming months on all 3 of my development machines.
At the minute I'm running WinXP at work and Win7 at home. If Photoshop were not part of the equation I'd be running xubuntu again.
I use windows, Mac and Ubuntu off and on. Tool wise Mac and Linux are most flexible
I use Windows 7 for everything beside programming even at home.