i'm possibly switching to linux, which should i get?

[Roger PA]

@ The Dot Master: So what are OS'es that are classified as UNIX? Im confused. Or are Linux, BSD etc "UNIX based"?

@nosidius: UBUNTU would be a good start, I tried it on a dell inspiron 2200 laptop and it works great, along with the sound card and wifi.

[faazshift]

@ The Dot Master: So what are OS'es that are classified as UNIX? Im confused. Or are Linux, BSD etc "UNIX based"?

You can find a list of UNIX operating systems here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unix_systems.

True, Linux, BSD, etc are UNIX based, but they use a different kernel (the core of the operating system) and have taken their own unique directions.

[thedotmaster]

Nonono.. they're not UNIX based at all. They're "unix-like".
There's a huge difference!
UNIX was an OS designed for those big computers in the 70s. It isn't in use (as far as I know) today.
It defined a number of "rules" of how operating systems should work, and these have been incorporated into the various unix-like (or *nix) systems.
Linux came about when Linus Torvalds decided that Minix, a unix-like OS, had a number of flaws - so decided to have a go at making his own OS, purely as a hobby.

Here's a timeline: http://www.levenez.com/unix/

[faazshift]

Oh.. oops.. silly me