UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hello, I'm like most people who post here, I'm new in UNIX. Yesterday I installed Xwindows on my OSX box just to learn as much about UNIX as I can. I been messing around with my terminal and conf files that have to do with Apache and sendmail and didn't mess anything up so I thought I was ready to get more on the side of unix. I have a toturial that came in last month's issure of Mac Addict along with the files needed on a disk, but they didn't tell how to use it.

What I get when I log into Xwindows are three terminals; one that says login and two that say, well I can't remember right now. I was expecting it to look a little like the SUN system we have at work; a little like gnome. Or at least have icons and GUI windows and menus.

On a page closer the front, they have a review of an OSX verison of GIMP called Xtools, they have a box on the bottom left corner of that page that talkes a little about X Windows. I assumed that is what forms the windows, icons, and menus. So I went back and installed a file called Xnest, it says this is "a nested X Window server". When I rebooted Xwindows after installing this, nothing changed.

Is there a command that I need to enter, did I do something wrong, is there a file I need to install, or am I just missing something?

Thanks for your help

Are you running Apple's OSX GUI?

I recommend you not run "freeware X windows" and run Apple's excellent GUI for OSX. Is that what you are doing?

Yes, I'm in aqua right now. I'm just wanting to get Xwindows to work just so I can get a better understand of UNIX and how everything works.

the Aqua GUI is great, and it'll be my normal interface, but it still fills too much like the Mac OS; it doesn't really tell me anything about how to use the powerful new core. Well, at least not what I'm wanting to know.