On my Windows and Mac boxes, the WAMP and MAMP servers (respectively) are started and stopped manually, but on my Linux box the LAMP stack is always available without the need for starting and stopping.
Isn't this a waste of resources?
Yes, it kinda is :)
Anyway, I expect it to go to "sleep" when not in use, so it wouldnt use much resources (except maybe the database)
Also, on all linux distros, you have commands to start and stop these just as you have on Windows and Macs