I am used to finding the source code for the sites I set up (like blogs or CMS's) and I have used the Web Platform Installer to try out new packages and setup my development machine, but I haven't bothered to deploy any of those.Are there any gotchas with that tool?
Should I use the Microsoft Web Platform Installer, or download the source directly and install
site deployment;web platform installer
I would suggest using the Web Platform Installer.  It does all of the hard work for you and it tracks when you need to update applications that you might not have otherwise realized.  It also gives you a way to manage many of your web related applications through 1 portal instead of through many others.I have used it for over 6 months now and I have had no issues with it whatsoever.