Unix???

[Press F1]

Ive been using Windows for quite long now and right now i want to try and give it a shot on some OS like Linux, Unix and son solaris.
Of these 3, i only know Linux Redhat and im on the process of installing it.. just make a couple of reasearch and found out that UNIX OS is also free! FreeBSD if im not mistaken, like Linux you can download it for free.
anyway, is it worth a try if i install this OS, say i want to have a tripleboot, windows-linux-freeBSD?

are there any other version of unix aside from freeBSD? is it also GUI? where do u primarily use UNIX OS?

What about Sun Solaris, is it also a GUi OS?

sorry if i have here a lot of questions, im just too hungry to know different types of OS. I know i should have done this long time ago.

THank YoU.

[Computer Hobbyist]

OpenBSD is preferred by a lot of folks. You might give it a look.

Linux is a Unix-like os. Learning Linux will take you a long way down the road to learning Unix. Linux has a large, knowledgalble user base. You might want to get your feet wet with Linux before you move on to FreeBSD or OpenBSD, or you spend money on one of the commercial verisions of Unix.

Typically FreeBSD and OpenBSD are found in server installations, although somebody recently said that FreeBSD was not just for servers anymore.

[Press F1]

Learning Linux will take you a long way down the road to learning Unix

thanks for the reply, but what do u mean by this?

ok now, i already installed linux redhat (dual boot with XP) and i found out that is too similar with win XP by the way i look at it now but since im a newbie. i cant even play the audio CD.

anyone here knows a good site to start working with linux redhat? a windows OS and Linux OS comprison will be much easier, say my computer icon is the same with this icon in linux.. something like that.

although somebody recently said that FreeBSD was not just for servers anymore.

so you mean we can now use it for desktop computing, just like windows with GUI on it?

[Computer Hobbyist]

Originally posted by Press F1 thanks for the reply, but what do u mean by this? ok now, i already installed linux redhat (dual boot with XP) and i found out that is too similar with win XP by the way i look at it now but since im a newbie. i cant even play the audio CD. anyone here knows a good site to start working with linux redhat? a windows OS and Linux OS comprison will be much easier, say my computer icon is the same with this icon in linux.. something like that. so you mean we can now use it for desktop computing, just like windows with GUI on it?

As to the RedHat questions you can start with the RedHat website. It has pretty good documentation section. There is always www.linuxquestions.org.

As to the FreeBSD question, I don't know. That is what somebody posted. I was going to find out before I got sidetracked with gentoo. As soon as I complete my gentoo adventure, I intend to find out.

I have a great idea for a movie about my gentoo adventure staring Ben Aflack and JLO. . . . gentoo/gigli . . . . .Nevermind.

[Press F1]

so when you talk about UNIX system, linux is one of them? when i try to work around with Linux, does it mean i have know a background on Unix system, is that right?

so basically whats the difference between a windows-based system with that of a UNIX or Linux?

[Computer Hobbyist]

Linux is a Unix clone. It is not the same a Unix, but if you learn Linux you will have no difficulty learning Unix (which is itself not a monolith but instead a number of related systems.)

I don't know enough about the architecture of Windows XP to answer that question, but basically, Unix is a true multiuser system. It was designed from the ground up around the idea that the computer was going to remain on serving its users 24/7/365. Little downtime was anticipated. That is Unix's great strength. Unix is designed so that if a software package fails the OS will keep on trucking. That particular user will have to fix the software, but other users will not be shutdown. The way this is accompliished leads to one of Unix's weaknesses. Improper shutdown of a Unix system can result in really funky problems not normally experienced in older versions of Windows. You never want to shut down a Unix system by pushing the off button.

Wiindows was developed as a single user system with a multiuser overlay. Security was not good in older versions of Windows, and because of the way Windows handled data calls and broken software, the famous BSOD was inevitable. It was designed around the notion that the user was likely to hit the off button when leaving work for the day.

Windows NT (and its deriviative Windows XP) may be different. I have heard that Windows NT technology is also a true multiuser system.

All Unix based systems use a series of common command line commands, some of them are the same as in Windows, but most are slightly different (eg. in unix the command cp means copy and is the equivalent of the copy command in windows.) Not surprisingly the commands in both Windows and Unix mostly address the common problems faced by any computer user.

If somebody wants to expand or refute what I have said, I am willing to learn.

[Press F1]

thank you so much for the knowledge you impart!

r u a unix user? whats a good site you can recommend us to know more about UNIX system?

cheers!

[Computer Hobbyist]

I am a Linux learner. Some of the others around here are real pros. My name says it all about my involvement. For me computers are a hobby. Perhaps a passion. But I don't make my living building them or writing software (although I know a lof of folks who do.) If you want a more complete comparison between windows nt technology and linux (unix) you might start with the Linux v. Windows NT debate. The presenter of that debate admits that he is biased toward Linux, but he has solid NT (and by implication XP) professional credentials.

[jglen490]

Here's an interesting pictorial view of the lineage and ancestry of just about all the Unices and Unix-like systems. Have fun with it

[Mac Medic]

Originally posted by Computer Hobbyist As to the FreeBSD question, I don't know. That is what somebody posted. I was going to find out before I got sidetracked with gentoo. As soon as I complete my gentoo adventure, I intend to find out.

OS-X is BSD with a GUI, and apparently is the best selling version of Unix.

[Press F1]

that would be MAC. well Apple has its own world.

i already post this question on some forums regarding OS X. well i got the OS but i dnt have a MAC, i know this is out of UNIX but can i install it on my PC?

just want to have an idea. thanks for that post jglen!

[jglen490]

Originally posted by Press F1 that would be MAC. well Apple has its own world. i already post this question on some forums regarding OS X. well i got the OS but i dnt have a MAC, i know this is out of UNIX but can i install it on my PC? just want to have an idea. thanks for that post jglen!

The short answer to OSX on your PC is no.

The reason being is that it is created and compiled for the MAC environment as defined by the CPU. The Intel/AMD/Cyrix CPUs are architecturally different from the Motorola/PPC CPUs. There is a great divide that cannot be crossed -- with already compiled executables. Now, if you had the source, then it would be possible, in theory, but still very difficult as there would be a lot of re-writing to do.

And you're welcome!!

[Xayd]

Yes you can run X on the BSDs, although it won't be a graphical installation that takes you straight to a desktop like some of the Linux distros, you'll have to install some of it on your own.

On the bright side, FreeBSD especially has a very nice system for installing apps directly from their FTP server on the fly, so it's not hard to do.

Personally I find the BSD distros easier to use than Linux for various reasons, but that's a matter of preference I suppose.