I was asked about which Linux to install on a mailing list. Following is the question & my answer.

  > I have an extra box that's running Windows.  It has more issues than I
  > care to deal with and I've decided that since I already have a
  > functioning windows laptop (can't go cold turkey), I'm going to set the
  > desktop up as a linux box.
  >
  > To that end, I want to start attending user group sessions that might
  > teach me the best linux OS to load and clue me in to other applications
  > that I'll want to know about.  Any suggestions would be greatly
  > appreciated.

1st of all, don't try to do anything yourself. Take it to a Linux Users Group & get help there. It's just a good idea when learning a brand new OS, especially one as rich - and different - as Linux.

2nd of all, try using a Live CD - Ubuntu and Kubuntu both act as one - to make sure your hardware is supported by Linux. Download Ubuntu (or Kubuntu), burn it on CD, & boot with it. Your original OS will remain untouched. When you're done verifying that most of your hardware works, simply click on Install on the Desktop and everything else will be done for you. If something doesn't work, simply remove the CD, reboot, & you're back to normal.

3rd, if you're willing to spend money, Xandros or Linspire are probably the easiest, newbie-friendly distros out there. They'll run you ~$50 or so, maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less. There are several books out there that use Xandros as a base, so you have that option as well.

4th, if you don't want to spend $$$, or you want to really jump in, then I would recommend installing Ubuntu, and then installing the kubuntu-desktop on top of that using Synaptic, and then using KDE as your desktop environment. This probably sounds like Greek right now, but if you could *see* it in action at a Linux Users Group, it would make a lot more sense. For instance, if I was there, another thing I would do is enable the Universe and Multiverse repositories, so you have the entire wealth of 16,000+ software packages available for download.

A good friend uses K/Ubuntu now, & she's hardly a 'computer person', & it's been fine for her. It's a fabulous distro, with lots of support & a constantly-increasing user base, & it's quite slick & well put together.

I hope that helps give you some stuff to chew on. Feel free to join the CWE-LUG mailing list (yes, it's here in St. Louis, but we can help you) at http://www.cwelug.org & talk to us.

Just keep an open mind & jump on in!