Head for the hills....another Linux dummy

If you are looking for something that will seem familiar without groping blindly in the dark, I would recommend SuSE Linux (it's what I use), and a lot of people would probably also recommend Ubuntu Linux (the rising star, up-and-coming Linux distribution).
Unlike Windows, Linux has several distributors (distros) to choose from, and each does things a little bit different. Linux Torvalds develops the kernel, or core operating system code, and the distros add their bells and whistles to it. The distros decide which "window manager" and other software they want to bundle with the kernel for their base installation. Some of the distros use only open-source software, while some include a few commercial applications. When you download the Linux distro from the web, you generally only get the open-source applications.
Almost every distro includes both the KDE and Gnome window managers, since these are the two most common and the most developed. They are actually more customizable than the window manager integrated into Windows XP. Most of them also include a set of special installation tools that will allow you to set aside some space for Linux to run on the same computer without wiping out Windows.
All of your Microsoft Office files (Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, etc.) will transfer over easily, and can be viewed and modified with OpenOffice. Migrating them back to Windows can be a bit tricky, however, since Linux is not allowed to write to the NTFS file system. Saving documents to Microsoft Office formats is not a problem, it's just a matter of moving them back to the filesystem Windows recognizes that is a problem.
Pictures, sound files, etc. will also migrate easily. Unlike Windows, however, you will not have to pay extra for professional-grade software to handle the files. OpenOffice comes free with most distributions, as does The Gimp (similar to Photoshop) and various interfaces for ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture) which can handle sound mixing, playlists, and more.
There are a lot of independent projects happening for Linux. Software is in development for interfacing with PDAs, cell phones, and other devices. There are improvements being made to most of the existing software. Improvements are bing made in the interoperability between Linux and other Operating Systems- including Windows, MacOS, BSD, Unix, and Solaris.

There is a huge community available for help with your Linux questions. Here's my top 3 sites:
<A HREF="http://www.suseforums.net/" target="_new">SuSE Forums</A>- a real community feel, a lot of knowledgable people who love answering questions, and not just about SuSE Linux.
<A HREF="http://forums.suselinuxsupport.de/" target="_new">SuSE Linux Support Forums</A>- less community feel, good for technical questions, they sometimes get a bit snappy with newcomers, definitely more SuSE Linux-centric.
<A HREF="http://www.linuxquestions.org" target="_new">LinuxQuestions.org</A>- good all-around forum, it gets rather busy and there's a lot of repeat questions, some answers will likely go over your head, so be sure to let them know in each post that you are a newbie.

Please feel free to ask more questions, and visit the sites I've mentioned to ask lots of questions. The only stupid question is the one nobody bothers to ask!
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If ignorance is bliss, education will blow your mind.

For more cooperlion, read the sticky...

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