you've lost me there pal, lol
but basically something easy and looks better than windows, not ubuntu, cant get the graphics driver to load at all for my mobo
the ubuntu and beryl effects look more than impressive though
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Unix = BSD and SysV.
Linux = Debian, Red Hat, Slackware, Gentoo, etc. (technically, they're "GNU/Linux")
Unix = Uniplexed Information and Computing System (originally UNICS, though altered to UNIX), it is also a pun on MULTICS, a predecessor.
Linux = Linus' MINIX (minix is a "mini" version and derivative of unix), or Linux Torvald's Unix, or Linux Is Not Unix.
GNU = GNU's Not Unix.
Linux, alone, is just a kernel... Linux is not an operating system... until you add GNU. The GNU applications, alone, aren't an OS, lol... they require a kernel, henceforth Linux.
Unix is an OS. It's the whole package.
BSD (Berkeley Software Division) and SysV (System 5/System V) are the main 2 kinds of unix at present. There are others, though those 2 are the main ones. BSD consists of several "flavors", such as OpenBSD, NetBSD, FreeBSD, and more. SysV consists pretty much of just Solaris.
Red Hat and Debian used to be 2 of the main "distros" of linux. There are now several derivatives of Red Hat and several derivatives of Debian. There are also Linux systems independent of RH and Deb... Slackware and Gentoo, for example, are each their own stand-alone Linux systems. There are more. Many many more.
If you are interested in learning a *nix system in the truest form, put linux aside temporarily and start with unix. You can still learn some great things from linux (without all the GUI (graphic user interface, aka the "windows" environment)), just like you can in unix, via doing nothing but the CLI (command line interface).
If you are interested in learning a *nix system via GUI, you can use either unix or linux - they are both now posix compliant such that they can crossplatform almost any apps from almost any system.
You mentioned an interest in something that is easy, looks better than windows, but is not ubuntu.
You might consider Vector (or "VectorLinux" or "Vector Linux"). It is a derivative of Slackware. Although Slackware is not the easiest or most user-friendly system, Vector is very easy to use. There is also a multimedia package available with Vector that might work well with your graphics.
http://vectorlinux.com/
I'm not using Vector right now, though have in the past and was impressed with it.
Remember also that the default look and feel of any linux/unix system is not your only choice. You have several WMs (window managers) and DEs (desktop environments) to choose from, some even mimic Windows.
Beryl (or Compiz) is actually not an Ubuntu thing
...it's used in all of the *nix systems... though it is a beauty. I'm using it right now.
You can also run a LiveCD to get a feel for a linux/unix system. Those work by finding the ISO (CD) file on their website, burning it to CD (be sure to use the ISO feature in your burning software), putting the CD in your CD drive, and booting the computer off of the CD. This is a completely safe way to those test operating systems - it does absolutely nothing to your current operating system/programs/files/etc. - and it is a great way to see what other systems are like.
Once you find a linux or unix that you like you can install it. Most of the systems are very easy to install these days, as they provide easy user-friendly step-by-step "click of the mouse" type interactive install instructions.
Okay, enough *nix... my question...
Are there step-by-step instructions on updating mobo BIOS?