UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hello,
I've recently began learning to pogram in C++ and found out that to get a decent compiler i would have to spend an awful lot of money to get a program that i don't think is worth spending all that money for.
Because i had heard that most programmers use linux and/or unix i began searching the net for a copy of unix.
Now i've got this program called virtual PC that enables you to run linux or unix in windows i tried to install linux RedHat 7.1 with it.
The installing went well (but noticably slower than when istalling in wehn booted) but when i wanted to log in i got problems, the GNOME gui wasnt working at all so i got a text based log on.
And the screen kept on flickering so i couldnt type anything in.

So i decided to try to install FreeBSD with it, but when i got to the ftp site i found myself looking at all these files and didn't know which to actually download,

So i just wanted to know which files should i download to get FreeBSD working 'properly'.

Thanks.

I don't really have an answer to your question because I don't know much about FreeBSD, but here's another possible solution: check out <A HREF="http://sources.redhat.com/cygwin/">Cygwin</A>. It provides a full Unix environment (shell, compilers, utilities, etc) within Windows. Install is very easy, you don't need new partitions on your disk, etc. Of course if you really want to learn Unix the best way is to install on a second hard drive (or second partition) and dual boot.

Thanks,
I eventually did find out which files to install,
Then i had another problem, the partitioning.
So i think i'll try Cygwin before i completely trash my system.

You can go to a local bookstore and buy a Linux OS for around $30.

I bought at Borders a copy of Linux-Mandrake for $30. If you have a recent PC, It will load just fine and you can have the GUI interface similar to Windows. In order to dual boot your system I would create the LILO boot disk so that you can boot from Linux when the disk is in your A drive.

There are other versions including RedHat, but I like Mandrake Linux better.

I believe they have a website:

www.linux-mandrake.com/en/