newbie question: how is plugbox linux diff from debian?

I have a dockstar with debian running already. I also order a pogoplug (mainly because it has 256 MB of RAM) to "play with". Plugbox linux claims it is fast because it is made for these devices, is it faster than the debian I have on dockstar? In terms of apps (samba, torrent, usenet download and maybe asterisk), which one should I go with?

If you're looking for apps, I'd say go with Debian. I started with Plugbox, which is basically Archlinux recompiled for the Dockstar and other plug computers, and it was nice and for the basics, easy to use. But several packages and Perl libraries that I wanted hadn't been "ported" to Plugbox. I tried building stuff for myself from the Archlinux repositories, but it got tedious.

About that time, Jeff had done more work with the Debian install scripts, so I switched over and haven't looked back. I'd been using Debian on my desktops for almost 10 years, so it was definitely what I was already familiar with. And you can't beat the repositories, they have everything I want. As for speed, I haven't noticed any difference, but I didn't exactly do any tests or anything. The real bottleneck is going to be file I/O over USB, regardless of which distribution you use.

If you're curious about Archlinux, here's their Wiki page with their distribution's philosophy that they say make them unique: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/The_Arch_Way .

What ayrlander pointed out was the exact reason why I went for a traditional Debian install. Despite a completely different architecture, the wealth of packages in the repositories means that you can effectively have everything (almost) that you would have for an x86 install. The only thing I've yet to be able to get is Opera for ARM within an X based setup, as they don't have that in the non-free repositories. Midori does about as well as a lightweight browser. So if there's a program you can run on Ubuntu or Debian on your Intel box, it's very likely to be available for the Dockstar as well. That's the strength in using it.

As far as speed goes, I've managed to hit a bottleneck outside USB, but that was during compiling code... Most of the time, however, it will be the flash drive you use to install Debian onto. Try to get one with a higher write speed, if you can, (I got a Sandisk Ducati SDPlus card for this purpose) if you're not going to be using a hard drive. ARM can't really be directly compared with x86 performance wise, but the Dockstar with what I do on it in Debian certainly isn't a slouch. It's just as responsive as my similar Atom CPU based setup went. As far as Ram goes... more is always better but I seem to do just fine with 128MB. Debian plus a couple of screened terminal apps plus TightVNCServer and XFCE with Midori still only uses about 50-60MB total. I almost never end up having to touch swap.

Thank you for both replies. I guess I will stay with debian when I receive the pogoplug. Would have been nice if I can order another dockstar for $25.