Just to explain the differences between Unix, BSD, and Linux, I am going to throw this in:


Unix is/was the original. There were many variations of Unix, and ownership issues were and still are complicated. BSD and Linux evolved from this. I do not know much about *BSD, but Linux is one of my hobbies. Basically, when Linux was first started, it was designed to be a new Unix, but due to the ownership issues, it was written completely differently. Linux shares much with Unix, and has about the same functionality and compatibility, but was written comepletely differently in an effort to avoid copyright issues (SCO ring a bell?) This worked until recently.

At command line level, the systems are relatively identical. They all look, feel, and act much like Unix. They use many of the same commands (ls, cd, etc.), file structures, and programs (CUPS for example, a print server). And they all act in relatively similar manners. The place where the systems all diverge is split between the most basic ways in which they were written, and the software that comes with them. All of the Linux distributions that I know of come with a wide variety of software. Everything from The K Desktop Environment (My favorite GUI), to image software like the GIMP. Just about any Unix, BSD, or Linux program can be made to run on just about any Unix, BSD, or Linux system.

I hope this clears things up a bit. If this was confusing, I'll clear it up when I've had more caffeine.