[PyRaX]

I am a second year computer science student and have started looking at openings in the job market. So far every position requires the ability to work in a unix environment. Anyone have any suggestions, other than stumbling through it, on a way in which I could learn to use unix? I am willing to install an OS on my laptop and I have the entire summer to read/study I just need somewhere to start from.
Thanks,
Greg

[nak-1]

depends on what sort of level you want to attack this.

If you want something with a less stepp learning curve go for something like Mandrake or suse

If you want to be thrown in at the deep end go for something like debian or gentoo.

Secondly, buy yourself a good reference book. You can find everything you need online but you have to spend half your time searching for what you need when you don't necessarily have a clue what it is you actually need.

If you are familar with a CLI environment you will probably pick it up pretty quickly.

What sort of jobs are you applying for?

If you tells us we may be able to point you in a more purposefull direction.

[PyRaX]

Im just looking for a way to learn how to use unix instead of linux. I am planning on installing Fedora on my laptop alongside windows so that I can see how that goes. Can you recommend any good books that I could use?

[nak-1]

Linux is really just a variant of Unix. Most of what you learn is completely translatable between the different *nix platforms. There are some differences in terms of implementation but these are normally small. If you are applying for jobs that are as a *nix administrator, chances are that 99% of the software you will use will be exactly the same no matter what *nix platform you are on, unless it's bespoke in which case the company you apply for will provide training.

Fedora is a Linux based distribution. If you have used linux before you may want to look at something like FreeBSD for a different take on the *nix implementation.

If you are going to buy a book, buy a book that complements the particular flavour of *nix that you install. There are plenty out there and I'm afraid that I don't really know any to recommend, learnt most of what I know via friends, colleagues, uni and the net.

Can anyone else recomend any?