Real new to unix ?

[mickerobb]

Hi ,Is Unix the same as Linux ?
As you can tell , I'm really new to this and , I would like to try Unix or Linux out.
Is mandrake unix or linx ?
Is there a place i could download the latest Mandrake or do i have to buy it ?
I have a lot more questions but i will download or buy it when i get a reply
Thanks for your time :confused:

[demian]

Let's see. Apparently you heard about Mandrake. So one of the most obvious things to do to learn more about mandrake (esp. whether it's Linux or Unix) is to go to www.mandrake.com (http://www.mandrake.com) . If you actually type that URL into a browser you will be redirected to the Linux Mandrake (http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/) homepage. Ok, so it seems that Mandrake is actually Linux and not Unix! Hmm, what else can we learn here. One of the first links that strike me is
From the Linux Mandrake website:
I'm new to GNU/Linux, I want to
learn more (http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/linux.php3)Ok, this page tells me about stuff like GNU and FSF and such. Clicking further tells me that GNU's not Unix Hmmm, ok.
Another link on the Linux Mandrake (http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/) homepage is downloads (http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/ftp.php3)... what might that be?

You will get loads of responses below telling you about other newbie-distros and why you should use those rather than mandrake or why mandrake indeed rocks and is the way to go for you. So you will get all your qustions answered in this thread without any effort on your side... but please, if finding the best unix/linux discussion board on the web isn't above your head then the above procedure also isn't.

[quasimojo]

Hi there. Linux is usually given the moniker of a "unix like" operating system. The reason it is described this way is becuase it is not "POSIX compliant" (POSIX comliance is a minimum set of standards that an OS must conform with to be considered UNIX).
Some parts of linux don't adhere to this strict interpretation of POSIX compliance. Thus while it functions just like unix, alot of the things you might find in AIX, SUN, HPUX, BSD flavors of UNIX, won't appear in linux. Likewise, many cool things that happen in linux won't occur on a vanilla unix OS. Hope I got all that right!

Yes Mandrake is a distribution (or distro) of LINUX. Other Distributions are RED HAT, DEBIAN, SLACKWARE, SUSE and Correl. Each Distro has it's own version number. Right now I use Red Hat 7.1.
The one thing common to all distro's is the linux kernel. The kernel is the interface between your computers hardware and the operating system software. The "shell" interface is the way you pass commands down thru the kernel to the hardware, Every OS (including Microslop Winblows) uses some type of kernel in it's OS. The difference is that some kernel's do the work a little more elegantly than others. The most recent kernel version is the 2.4.x (where x is latest revision of the kernel.) The last kernel version was 2.2.

If you ever need anything (software-wise) for linux, go to www.freshmeat.org (http://www.freshmeat.org) Use there search engine to find the software you are looking for. I am sure you can get a mirror there for mandrake linux. ;)

[bdl]

I think this (http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Hills/9267/fud2.html) is about my favorite link to linux info and how it compares to UNIX in general. Give it a look.