Can you guys tell me the difference between Unix and Linux. I'm a Mac OsX user.

The answer to this could easily expand to thesis-size, however some basic differences you might be interested in are: - Linux uses Linus Torvalds's kernel ; other UNIXes & UNIX-like OSes use other kernels. The kernel is the heart of the operating system and controls the hardware, while the "distribution" - ie Redhat, Caldera, etc) is the operating system's "coating" containing commands, drivers, utilities, etc. This coating is the interface between you and the kernel. This is why you'll occasionally see "GNU/Linux" or "Debian/Linux" as the OS discription. BTW, its my understanding that Mac OSX is basically "Aqua" - Apple's GUI - with a Free/NetBSD-derived kernel. - "Linux" development is more distributed than other UNIXes in that the kernel and the "distributions" are developed by separate groups: Most other UNIX/UNIX-like OSes have centralized development of the entire OS. There are pros and cons to both strategies: distributed development can be faster but lead to OS instability and software incompatabilies; centralized development can be slower but often results in fewer instabilites, etc. - "Linux" distributions and the kernel are governed by the GNU Public License (GPL) which stipulates that you can freely modify & sell (for profit) the software as long as all changes are made freely available. This is why you can freely download most any flavor of "Linux". Other UNIX/UNIX-like OSes vary as to the governing license: SUN Solaris is freely available for non-commercial/non-modifiable use but without the source code. Alternately, Free/Open/NetBSD are governed by the BSD license and are freely available for ANY use - source code included - WITHOUT the stipluation that you publicly release any modifications you make. This makes them more attactive then Linux to developers of embedded applications. I'm sure others could elaborate - extensively - on this answer, but I think this highlights the differences most end users would be interested in. Cheers, Beaker

to keep things simple, Linux is the free version of Unix

could anyone tell me whats difference between a UNIX\UNIX like OSes and a linux one