UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

I will be taking a UNIX course as a part of my college Data Com concentration curriculum. Just thought it would be a good idea to get a little head start, since this class will most likely be quite difficult for someone like me. I never did any programming and I never dealt with Unix or Linux short of playing with Ubuntu for a few hours a long time ago, and quickly deciding that it's not for me. I need help with my questions please:

1)Tried getting a book on amazon about Unix, but relevant books for sale are OLD. Latest one I found was 2005. I doubt there were no new developments in this field since then. Why are Unix books so hard to find?

2)Why would someone use Unix and not Linux and wise versa? If someone already knows Linux, does he automatically know Unix? Is the reverse true as well?

3)How do I start learning Unix? Where do I start? I need the absolute basics. A course for dummies, if you will.

4)Should I use this OS through VM Ware/Virtual Box? Should I make a dual boot? Should I install on a single machine?

Thanks!

Because not that much has changed in 5 years or so. If you get a good 2005 book and learn it, you will learn a lot, I am sure.

UNIX and Linux are "big words" and there is a lot more to each of them that the four letters in "UNIX" and the five letters in "Linux". Learning in each environment will certainly help you in the other; most of the basic concepts are the same; as are the underlying theory and most of the shell commands. So, the short, not perfect answer is "yes".

Everone learns differently. Some people like to read books. Other like to work on projects and "learn by doing". I suggest you "learn by doing". Build a web server. That is a good start, isn't it?

That is really up to you, not us. But as a general rule, you are better off to "keep it simple". I prefer simple, so why not just build a simple, cheap box and go from there. You can learn "dual boot" and "VM Ware" another day.

I learned by using a tutorial like this one: UNIX / Linux Tutorial for Beginners
After you are trough with it you will feel more comfortable in Unix! Just use Unix and only Unix for some weeks and you'll be fine!

If you are already familiar with some sort of virtualization technology (VMware, Virtual Box, or whatnot), I'd say the easiest thing to do would be to set up a VM or two and give a Linux distro a whirl. VMs are just too flexible and convenient to bother with physical hardware when you are talking about throwaway systems, unless you aren't already familiar with them and then it's just one more thing to learn.

On PC hardware you're most likely going to want to play with some sort of Linux. Unicies tend to run on specialized hardware the average person isn't going to own. Though, if you really want to try honest-to-goodness Unix, you could always go with Solaris 10 x86. You could even run that in a VM.