So you like *NIX systems that boot off of media Try:


http://people.freebsd.org/~picobsd/picobsd.html

It can boot off a floppy I believe Muhahahaha

Buy red hat fedora - its only version 1 but you get a 400 page book and source for £30

go for mandrake 2006---check more out at chooselinux.org

Well I'm a programmer and using Debian.
I find it very easy to update and install packages.
Also being a gamer I can still play 99% of my windows games through Wine. All of my old programs can either be used through Wine or I have found suitable Linux substitutes.
I'm a newbie with Linux too and find this very simple and easy to use. I love it. Give it a try.
Have fun

way to bump a super old thread, lol.

use backtrack
it's good for a newbie !

Everyone has their favorite. I'm still a newb, and I'm still with Ubuntu; wait for the latest version. I've also heard Red Hat/Fedora is very good. But I use the computer only for programming and for writing, aside from email.

I come from Windows XP, and when there I used the command line frequently; I still have a dual-boot setup with Vista and Ubuntu, and I use the command line interface most comfortably on both operating systems. If you're interested in operating systems, FreeBSD is great; it's a lean version of UNIX. Mastering Linux is interesting, and something I've yet to do. One poster mentioned WINE, a Windows emulator, though the name is Wine Is Not an Emulator. It will help you do a number of things you want to do, unless you elect to dual-boot. Good luck. gnujohn@gmail.com