OSX vs. Unix-Like Systems

[RobertX]

I've never administered (or even used!) an OSX system before.

However, a friend of mine is having trouble with an OSX system before.

I know that you know that I would need to actually learn the ropes to use an OSX to get the hang of it, but I neither have the time or the resources to buy or use an Apple Computer that has an OSX.

So what else should I do?

I did find out that OSX functions a similar way to BSD and GNU/Linux OSs, and I happen to have more than ten years of using GNU/Linux software.

Will that be the edge I need?

[contrail]

Try building a hackintosh if you can, but otherwise what you are doing and know should be fine.

[Moe]

While the OS X Darwin kernel and core are heavily BSD based, the Mac OS that sits on top of it is quite proprietary.

Being familiar with BSD or any Linux distro will go a long way, but even if you manage to avoid the GUI, there are plenty of OS X only commands that will be required on the command line.