I'm entrierly new to Linux, I still haven't installed it but what's so good about it? And can I run Linux Red Hat 9.0 with Windows 98? And when your computer starts up, can you choose which OS to run under?

You're kidding right? That's just gonna start another flame war. It will be good or bad depending on how much time you are willing to invest to learn how to use it. How about no blue screens or random crashes, is that good enough for you.....

As for your other two questions, yes, you can do both.

Hard to answer. It's interesting, it's different, it's powerful, it's secure, it's free, it's Open Source.

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And can I run Linux Red Hat 9.0 with Windows 98?

Yes, it's called 'dual-boot'.

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And when your computer starts up, can you choose which OS to run under?

Yes. You need a bootloader to do it (two most popular: LILO and GRUB), but ReadHat/mandrake/many more distros will detect Windows during installation and create a menu entry for them.

I know Linux is as good as you make it but, tell me, why do you think Linux is so great?

Because it allows me to do everything I want to.

So, if I install Red Hat on Windows 98 (my current OS), do I still need a bootloader for dual-booting?

Yes, I don't know any other (simple) mathod to choose between 2 systems. Bootloaders are included into all Linux distros, so you don't need to install one yourself.

Ok, that's cool. Here's another question... what Linux distro would you reccommend starting with? I'm thinking I might start with Red Hat 9.0, how is that?

If you have windows installed already, you just install linux on a seperate drive or partitions, and it'll work out the bootloader menues for you

Mandrake 9

9.1 looks real nice but strangly 9.0 seems easier to navigate. Maybe I'm just not used to it's eyecandy yet

Welcome to Linux, Ekim Gram. (Well, if you install it, I guess.)
If you are planning on picking up a boxed set of Red Hat, the included manuals will discuss your questions.
A few points are:
Yes you can use Windows and Linux on one computer.
Each OS will need it's own space on the hard drive (different partitions). The manuals discuss this and Red Hat will be able to create a partition for Linux.
Unless you want to always use a boot floppy to boot into Linux you will need a boot loader to choose which you want to use a boot time.
Linux is not a program you load onto Windows. It is a seperate operating system.
Although not completely true, it is best to understand Windows programs are not made for Linux and vise verse.
As for what is good or bad about it. That is for you to decide. Lots of folks have been using it for years.
Good Luck.


Edit:
Here is a link to Red Hat install book. (This is for 8, no link for 9 yet.)
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/l...install-guide/

Ok, I've got a problem, I only have one drive on my computer and I have got no idea what a partition is. Also, where can I download Mandrake 9?

As this is your first try, I suggest buying the cds, instead of the possible troubles of checking about 1.5gigs of data for 1 bit wrong (it's not quite that bad)
For a few quid/bucks you can get the cds, or a few more gets you some help manuals too.

A partition is a section of your harddrive, if you only have one OS you might only have the one section. Linux needs it's own, formatted into a type which windows cant actually read. Normally you have 3 seperate ones, so a second harddrive just for linux is simplest

You may want to search for a simpler howto:
http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/mini/Partition

A lot of people are big on Knoppix because it runs off a CD with no installation necessary. It'll give you a taste of Linux, but it's hard to see how you could do much with it. Completely different, yet utterly the same is MuLinux, which runs off a ramdisk from floppy. I wouldn't really recommend it, though. My BasicLinux is a completely independent OS (and that was a b*tch) but you can dump it in a DOS drive and run a UMSDOS system from loadlin (LOADs LINux) so you don't have to partition. But it's a lot better to do so. You can easily utterly trash your comp but it's also not that big a deal. As long as your current system isn't NTFS. So those are some options. But definitely need to stress - in principle, Linux is not something you put on or in Windows like an application. It's an operating system.

What's so good about it? Well, a lot of things aren't. There's billions of files and thousands of directories and poor support for a lot of hardware - and a lot of people seem pissed about the lack of games - but it's an open source system built by hackers doing it because that's what hackers do - and I can configure my system with a text editor. And it's just... better. More efficient, more stable, lower demand for resources - and there's a freaking command line. The GUI is optional. And it's not Microsoft, to put it bluntly. If I trash my XP and want to get it back, I probably won't be able to because I can't find my freaking registration code - I don't like renting my OS and letting MS have the power to withhold it from me. Linux is either free or bought but once you get it it's yours.

And as far as which first - from what I gather, for the easy road, there's Mandrake and Red Hat, but they seem to be being overtaken by Lindows and Lycoris and such for 'super-easy Linux'. For the hard road, try Basic or CORE on 11 and 8 year old machines. Nah, seriously - Slack would probably get your hands dirty without being overwhelming. And I honestly don't know which road is better - you might install Lindows and zombie around on it or quickly switch to more complicated stuff after your toes were wet. Or you might really get a handle on Linux doing something harder or end up smashing you computer and going back to Windows. So it depends on how you respond to comfort or challenges.

Here's another howto for dual booting, or you can just google under keywords "dual boot linux windows" and you'll find a ton.
http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue38/veselosky.html