would love to switch to linux

[platinum]

hi all!

i am new, and would love to switch to linux, as i am getting quite annoyed with windows. all i use my machine for is internet, the occasional online game, email, office work, and whenever i can, playing on my SNES emulator.

now i don't expect everything to work right away when i install linux, but i have never done it before!

here are my system specs:

celeron d 3.33ghz
1.5gb ram
200gb sata hard drive
dvdrw drive and dvd rom drive
asus P5LD2-VM mainboard
nvidia 6600GT PCI-e graphics card

i need to know which version of linux will support my hardware with the least amount of linux know how (i have none). and can linux do all the things i need (email, office work, other things listed above, etc)?

and lastly, how do i acquire linux? do i download, or order, or what?

thanks! i will follow up on any replies!

[Juan Pablo]

Linux can easily do what you want.
You first need to choose a distro, preferebly a newbie friendly one like openSuSE, Mandriva, Ubuntu, Fedora, MEPIS, etc

Then just go to their webpage and download the .iso image to your computer, then burn it to a CD as an image (use Nero, Roxio, cdburnerxp, etc), put the CD on your tray and reboot

[platinum]

wow.

it's really that simple? i thought i had to do some coding or crap like that!

does it do all the things i listed the same kinda way windows does, or is it completely different?

ho do i install something, lets say, firefox or adobe pdf?

and what about firewall and antivirus? i've always had problems with windows and this stupid "allow" or "cancel" thing that's always popping up.

[devils casper]

FireFox is pre-installed in most of Linux distros and all distros have package to veiw pdf file too. here is the list of Alternative Windows packages in Linux.
Which distro is best for you? check here.

[platinum]

thanks a lot everyone!

[mrreality13]

Im kinda n00b too 2 months, i have tried many distros and keep coming back to 2 i like #1 i prefer ubuntu 2nd is PCLinuxOS and they both have Like here fantastic forum help,, Just read some of the wiki's for both too

I havent posted much here since i --lol know how to use search

[Thrillhouse]

and what about firewall and antivirus? i've always had problems with windows and this stupid "allow" or "cancel" thing that's always popping up.

You don't have as many security risks on a vanilla Linux machine as you do on a vanilla Windows machine but that doesn't mean you should completely disregard security. A default install of almost all Linux distributions will set up a simple but effective firewall which you can tweak to your liking. Spyware and viruses aren't as much of a threat but you can install ClamAV or another antivirus software if you're worried about it. You might also want to install rkhunter to periodically check for rootkits.

Take a look at this thread to learn about security on Linux and some basic precautions you might want to take to protect your machine.

[larrydag]

Great site for linux distribution ratings

DistroWatch