Free
——-
MEPIS (an Ubuntu derivative, but one which uses the KDe interface rather than Gnome. Kubuntu exists, but I think MEPIS is more robust)

Ubuntu: the single most downloaded version for the last year or so. The community/forums are vital and full of information if you have any questions or problems.

Linux Mint: another Ubuntu derivative. Very attractive and functional.

Actually, the three listed above are all Debian derivatives, but I wouldn’t recommend going with Debian itself, as it can be more work than its polished children. Also, I wouldn’t suggest Slackware or its offspring unless you really like geeking out on a full-time basis. I will make an exception for Slax because it’s designed to be ONLY a Live CD distro.

Commercial
———-
Want a drop-in replacement (mostly) for XP? Check out Xandros. You can bundle it with Versora’s Progression Desktop software, which will migrate most of your current Xp settings. Your new environment will look and feel quite similar to your old Windows desktop. Oh, and it might come bundled with Crossover Office. If not, grab that software. In fact, you should add Crossover Office regardless of which linux you test. It allows you to run all MS Office products, Quicken (not fully functional for 2007) and a bunch of other Windows type software.

What will you find with the distros above? Well, you’re system will be a lot more responsive, since you won’t be running the enormous overhead that Windows requires to keep its security flaws wide open. Also, you won’t find the need to run anti-virus/anti-spam software anymore, although it does exist. And you’ll find that you’ll really enjoy being able to update your OS and all of your applications with the click of a button, free of charge.

One final thought about the Live CDs: make sure that you burn the images on a CD only writer and burn at the slowest speed available. If the drive also writes DVDs, you’re most likely to end up a CD which doesn’t work. This is the voice of ugly experience. I have an old USB 8X CD writer which I use just to burn Live CD images.

Good luck. Keep Vista at the curb where it belongs.

You can also set it up so that you’ve got both operating systems on your computer, and can switch between them–that way you can get a trial period without entirely doing away with your Windows stuff. Then, if you find it to your liking, you can drive the stake through the old OS’ heart once and for all

Try Xandros 4 with Crossover Office – it will actually install MS Office & run it, as well as things like Quicken.

Two more words: dual boot. I’m teaching on Fedore 7, and you can set it up to dual boot (select fedora or Windows) at system boot time. You can get a DVD ISO image from Fedora, and load it from there.

Yes, Linux is a bit of a science experiment, *but* – my daughter, a reasonably sophisticated user, was on my laptop loaded w/ Xandros, Open Office and Firefox, and didn’t know the difference from Windows until she wanted to to a control-alt-delete.

Ubuntu ain’t bad, either.

More off-line if you wish.

(1) dont do vista; a friend that does IT curses it and the horror stories are rampant,

(2) do try a ‘live’ cd – slow to load but will
give you the feel of things. There are many
linux live cd’s available, some which can run
off a USB thumb drive.

(3) if you are feeling chipper you can be a bit
different and give Frenzy a try – its a live
CD based on FreeBSD.