Wanting to learn Unix....ne1 help me get started?

[Passa]

Any good places to learn and resources??
Id really like to know how to learn to use....


can i dual boot it with XP
can I download it? or does it cost $$$

etc,,,

anyhelp in steering me in the right direction much appreciated...thank you

 

[Elledan]

<< can i dual boot it with XP >>

Yes, use XP's bootmanager (requires some tweaking), LILO or a third-party bootmanager. I prefer using LILO or a third-party bootmanager.


<< can I download it? or does it cost $$$ >>

Eevery distribution of Linux can be downloaded for free. Of some distro's, no .iso files are available, though. I suggest you buy Linux in a store, because you'll get a lot of manuals with it as well. I recommend SuSe Linux.

 

[Koeppster]

You can also search these forums for the types of questions you're asking, you'll find many, many threads with helpful info.

Good luck!

 

[unixmandan]

You said learn Unix... So I assume you're looking for a more Unix-style linux disrto? If so, go with slackware. If you just want to learn linux, try Mandrake.

If you want to get even closer to Unix, try out BSD. There's 3 different kinds, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD. FreeBSD has a ton of ports (linux programs that have been ported over to work with FreeBSD), while OpenBSD is supposedly the most secure OS out there. I don't know anything about NetBSD, unfortunately.

If you're really serious about it, check out the O'Reilly line of Linux books.

 

[Biggen]

I would recommend getting Linux instead of Unix. Unix (to me anyway) is much more difficult to learn than just about any other flavor of *nix. If you are wanting a great distro of Linux buy either Redhat or Mandrake. Both are awesome OS's. Redhat is typically what I tell everyone to get if they are wanting to learn Linux, but Mandrake has impressed me more and more in the last year or so.

Yes you can download Redhat and Mandrake for free, but if this is your first time EVER messing with a *nix system, you will be so lost after the first day you will delete the ISO and will never look at another *nix system again. Buy the complete packages with manuals and all.

As far as dual booting, like Elledan says you can use XP's bootmanager or LILO. LILO comes with both Mandrake and Redhat and it is a real easy program to use. The only problem with LILO I have found is that if you decide you no longer want the *nix partition on the drive (i.e. you want to get rid of Redhat for instance) you can't reclaim that space without fdisking and reformatting the entire drive. Unless of course some other third party partition manager is used (e.g. Partition Magic).

Hopes this helps

Biggen