UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hello everybody! I'm a long-time windows user with some very limited experience with some Linux distributions. I'm a programmer (in training), but I've worked mostly with .NET stuff.

I started a new job a couple of weeks ago and was issued a MacBook Pro to work on. I have fallen in love with the UNIX terminal and shell scripting (before, I had only written a couple short scripts for a class in a Linux OS).

I was wondering if you guys had any recommendations for a good UNIX based or Unix-like OS to install on my Windows laptop so I can dual boot.

I currently have Ubuntu installed. I'm fairly happy with it, and it's similar to the Mac OS X with its launcher and left-corner buttons, but I haven't had experience with really any other Unix-like systems and I'm afraid I just don't know what I'm missing out on!

I would like to just get a MacBook of my own, but I don't really have that kind of cash sitting around, and I've already got a perfectly good Windows laptop.

I'm not wanting an argument on which one is the best, I'd just like to know which ones you all use and why, or if there's any major differences at all, really.

Anything wrong with your Ubuntu ?

I would go by buying a cheap refurbished unix box or for linux buy a cheap second hand tower PC and install a pure debian (server...) from scratch...

No, nothing is wrong with Ubuntu, I just find myself wondering if a different OS, like Solaris or something, would be better. Is there any important difference between a Linux and UNIX system for a newbie like me? It would be mainly for just recreational / learning purposes.

I had an old tower going with Linux on it for a while, but the motherboard finally went out.

I've been wanting to get another tower, and hopefully I'll be able to do what you suggest in the not-so-distant future..

Thanks for your reply!

IMHO most unix have KSH as standard shell... and you type ps -ef rather than ps ax some unix have top class system administation tool like HP-UX or AIX, but an admin uses mostly command line... I have not tried open solaris so I cannot help you here maybe worth trying...
In standard unix boxes, by default there is very little configured ( though plenty of sample files are there...) so have have to configure (and so know how to use vi if you want to survive...). If its nice to have like Ubuntu an installer that does all the work for you (I believe its the best for people not bothered about how linux works...) the day things go wrong, do you know what/where are the config files? etc...