• You can run Unix apps on Windows.pc monitor image by Jorge Casais from Fotolia.com
  
  Unix has been around for a long time; much longer than the desktop operating systems most people use today (for example, Windows and Mac OS). It only seems natural there are individuals who wish to have the power and convenience of a modern operating system (such as Windows XP) while retaining the ability to use Unix to some degree.
  
  

Cygwin

• The most popular tool for creating a Unix-like environment in Windows XP is Cygwin. It is unique because it provides native integration of Windows system resources. In other words, you can launch applications and open documents through Cygwin, as well as use the tools and applications of Cygwin in Windows XP itself.
  
  

GNU Core Utilities

• GNU Core Utilities, or coreutils as it is commonly called, is a package of software consisting of basic, Unix-like tools such as textutils, shellutils, fileutils, cat and others. These tools are Unix-like--as in any distribution released by GNU, there is never any native Unix code in any of the programs, only code that is Unix-like.
  
  

UWIN

• UWIN is perhaps the most accurate representation of Unix in a Windows environment. While Cygwin and GNU Core Utilities are powerful and efficient tools, UWIN attempts to run actual Unix on a Windows platform; in fact, programs written for Unix can be built and run in Windows XP. It contains file and tools such as cc, yacc, lex, make, the korn shell and over 250 different utilities. If there is one tool you may want to try first, it's UWIN.