[Señor Zorro]

Use what you like. My philosphy for some time has been "I'll try anything" (which is quite different from "I like anything"). I echo previous recommendations when I say download VMWare Server (it's free; another recent VM system that is pretty good is VirtualBox which is also free) and take the OS you're interested in, whatever it is, for a spin. There are valid reasons to use and not to use Linux, but GE has had a vendetta against Linux for sometime, so take his comments with a grain of salt.

Both Java and .NET will run on Windows, Linux, and Solaris. I favor .NET, myself; I feel that C# has more flexibility than Java and am particularly awaiting the functional features that are due in C# 3.0 like anonymous lambda functions (yes, I know that anonymouse delegates in C# 2.0).

[Golden Eagle]

Yes, I prefer products originating from the United States. The fact that "Senor Zorro" would disagree is hardly a surprise.