Why would you use Windows Server as a desktop operating system?

Solution 1:

A couple reasons why I prefer Server:

• Tends to be more stable, and have lower resource consumption (no proof of this, but it uses less at boot on a bigger machine than my laptop running Vista)
• Allows for more than 1 remote session (default is 3 I think?) which makes it easier to share with others, or even to have multiple sessions for yourself
• For 2008+, better VM support at the OS level (Hyper-V)

At work I have been running 2008/2008R2 with themes, so it looks very much like Vista (except no sidebar, which I don't miss). I would put it on my laptop, but I heard Hyper-V negates many of the power options, so I'm waiting for Win7 to come out.

Solution 2:

B/c we're SuperUsers and we like to test stuff out. I've been using it on my laptop for a year since I got it free from the Win2k8 launch event last year, just to get a feel for it. It's the same codebase as Vista. But where Vista starts with features activated and you pick which things to uninstall, 2k8 starts on the other end and you add what you'll need. Theoretically, someone with Vista should be able to achieve the exact same performance as someone with 2k8, but unlike Vista, the default install is very responsive, if spartan.

OTOH I have yet to find a bluetooth dongle that works and some desktop programs refuse to run at all. I'm just about ready to ditch this and restore XP.

Solution 3:

Development, specifically SharePoint, which cannot run on Windows XP and requires major hacking to get it to install and run on Vista.