so ive been hearing a lot about microsoft's new windows Vista and how its totally DRM laden. should i protect my rights online (including my "right" to break the law) by moving to linux from XP pro?

i want something thats free, looks nice, easy to use (i dont like looking at all that raw code and command line type stuff). ive got no idea how to install an OS so someone will need to enlighten me. i guess i need to make a hard drive partition (??). or don't i? anyway ive 70gigs of stuff i dont wanna wreck.

im running a dell 700m with 1.8ghz intel centrino with an 80gig fujitsu super ATA, Phillips CD-RW/DVD, 512 megs DDR SDRAM, a swissbit 1GB usb-key, a logitech cordless infrared mouse, and an intel extreme 2 graphic card (i dont even know if it is actually a graphics card)

maybe i should try a live CD or DVD to get used to everything first....

-Eric Juul

I wrote something for you: check out the first link in my sig.

Try Ubuntu - very newbie friendly. free, and lots o stuff. does almost all hardware configuring for you.
mandriva and Suse i hear are also good shots for newbies. Ubuntu is what my family uses. i use debian (not much harder)

check it out.

In your situation, I'd go with Mepis or Ubuntu. Both are user-friendly and have good user communities that can help you if you're in a jam.

If you like tinkering with your Windows control panel then Mandrake probably has the nearest equivalent and is nice and easy to install/use.

I have tinkered with a lot of the Linux distros, including MEPIS, Fedora Core, RedHat, Mandrake/Mandriva, and Ubuntu/Kubuntu. Since you are so new to Linux, try either Mandrake or MEPIS to start out with, as they are the most "Windows-like" systems out there, and Ubuntu is also a good one to start with. Both Mepis and Mandrake have VERY easy installs since you have never installed an OS before, and Ubuntu is a little more advanced than the latter two, but still very easy to install. Also, if you need any help on partitioning on your current HD, then this place is a great place to go to for help, as many of us have done it tons of times before (including myself). Another cool thing is that Ubuntu and MEPIS only require a 1-CD install for the base system. Also, MEPIS's CD also allows you to preview the desktop directly from the CD right before you install it on your HD! So, if you don't like MEPIS, you don't have to waste your HD space (and the time) to install it! Good luck, and let us know how it all goes for ya!

For someone as raw as you appear to be, I would suggwst that you find someone at the university to help you, and install the distro he suggests. Unless you don't mind tinkering, you'll need lots of hands on help getting started.

I personally always install Debian for newbies, once it's set up and running, it's rock solid and easy to use.