I have Win98, NT, 2000, XP, and Linux installed on my various development machines. Each of the Windows machines has had to be re-installed an average of three time this year. The Linux box has never even been re-booted.
I dual boot Linux/KDE and Win2KPro on my laptop. Guess which hasn't had to be re-installed yet...
I am now looking at Macs.
(When you're done laughing, read on)
I borrowed a TI Book for 2 weeks, loaded with OS X 10.2 (Jaguar). It's based on FreeBSD, ported for Mac with the "Aqua" desktop. I gotta tell ya, it's rock solid and ultra smooth.
Apache works. PHP works. PostgreSQL works. Perl works. All my Linux utilities work. I found all my midrange and mainframe utilities with versions that run on it; even Cisco VPN and Microsoft Terminal Services Client!
I have one issue left: I work extensively with JD Edward's One World XP client software written in PowerBuilder for Win2KPro. They gave me a Win2K emulator for the Mac. So far, the JD Edward's One World XP Demo Junior (training software) loaded and runs without issue. If the full version runs...
You might see my ugly mug on the next "switch" promo...