Getting Linux on my laptop
 

Ok, I currently have a laptop with windows XP on it. I want to get linux on it as well as keeping windows. It was suggested to me that I buy a new external hard drive and put linux on the hard drive instead of partitioning the one in the computer.

I am not sure where to begin in this process and would like to know if there are any websites i can visit, people i can call or talk to or any suggestions to getting this done.

What size hard drive does the laptop currently have installed? Most modern Linux distros will quite happily resize an NTFS partition with WinXP installed on (just make sure you have backups of documents just in case) and then install Linux alongside it. That way you're not having to buy additional hardware and get it going, as installing Linux onto a USB hard drive as your first foray might be a bit tough. What are the rest of the specs of your laptop, and what Linux distro, if any, have you considered so far?

My laptop has a 60 gb harddrive. As far as linux systems go, I have only used redhat and i have no problems with it. However, I am not too picky and will go with anything that is set up similarily. Whichever I go with, I need IDL and some other basic software. Buying a 2nd hard drive wouldn't be that big of a deal, however, not buying one and partitioning the current hard drive would be nice if it is easier.

I'd say with a 60Gb hdd, it would be much easier to let whichever Linux distro you go for re-size + partition your drive unless you're running short of space within Windows. That way you don't have much hassle getting things installed.
Red Hat is pretty good, or look at Fedora which is their free-offering now and more up to date than older Red Hat 8.x or 9.x you might have. Also, look at SuSE and Mandriva if you're just starting as both include good graphical installers, configuration tools, hardware detection + a large selection of packages. You'll probably get a whole of suggestions as to which distro exactly - there are a ton of threads on choosing a distro whilst starting on these forums, so have a read through the prons + cons of each :)