[pimlottc]

If working like Linus means using git, then I'd say his is a better way to work. Speaking for myself, there's no reason I can see to ever go back to svn. Even for personal single-dev projects.

It is so simple to create a new git repo on the fly, with no need for a separate repository location. And rebasing plus easy branching has changed the way I work forever. Git allows you to commit early and commit often, safe in the knowledge you can always reorder, combine, remove and/or re-comment your changes later.

This frees you to experiment without worrying about losing the progress you've already made. If you reach a dead-end, it's easy to go back and start working in another direction, while saving the branch in case you change your mind.

Basically, once you get past the learning curve, git makes it extremely easy to remain in that most blessed of version control state of having no uncommitted local changes. And once you've saved with with a commit, it's pretty hard to permanently lose it.

at least, before you push changes to another repo, if you're doing that.