Where Windows Beats Linux

Most who know me are aware that, despite being a .NET developer and a Microsoft MVP, I'm a bit of a Linux freak at heart.  I actually prefer Linux to Windows.  Linux has come a long way in the past 18 years, although I've only been tinkering with it off and on for the past 9 years or so.  I will admit that perhaps Linux on the desktop isn't quite there for the average consumer, but for me it.  And, when it comes to servers, there is no question:   use Linux unless you've got a pretty compelling reason to run Windows.

I am now about to eat those works.  Or perhaps less dramatically, provide a pretty compelling reason for one to consider Windows over Linux:  setting up and managing a Subversion server.

You see, I always used to do this by hand, on a Linux server (typically Ubuntu).  It's not a painful experience, just time consuming.  If you Google, you can even find some VMware appliances that directly target this need.

Tonight I decided that it was time to repave my SVN box at home.  Well, actually I made the decision a while ago, I just only got around to doing something about it tonight.  I figured that I would take Visual SVN Server for a spin, as I'd heard good things about it from many sources.  I figured that if I didn't like it or it was painful, I had nothing to loose, I'd just fall back on a Linux-based Subversion server. 

I must say, I'm truly impressed.  Inside of about 10 minutes (including download time), I had a SVN server up and running.  It was so drop dead easy, that I'm sold.  Chalk one mark up in the "Windows" column of the operating system holy war debate.