Ok i am completely new to linux. I want to install Gnome(or some other one like that) onto my mac(which can run through boot camp).

so basically...

i wanna DL Gnome onto my Macbook,
then burn it onto a disk,
then use bootcamp to run it.
Then get wine
Then get steam on it
proceed to play steam on my mac

could someone point me in the right direction? I don't understand all this ISO and all that stuff

i just don't understand what im suppose to DL either. when i look at a huge list of mirrors and all that, then when i randomly click on one of them, it downloads, then i dont know what to do with it

Welcome to LQ!!

First, we'll need to know if you have an Intel Mac, or a Power PC. There are two basic choices when picking a package to download: CPU archtitecture and 32-bit vs 64-bit versions. 32-bit will run on both 32- and 64-bit machines, and I recommend sitcking with 32-bit at the beginning.

Gnome is a desktop environment, not the name of a Linux version (distro). To see the most popular Linux versions, go to http://distrowatch.com Among other things, you can see which versions use Gnome by default.

Once you pick a distro, download a single .iso file for one CD. Most mainstream distros have this option. Once you have the .iso file, use the "burn from iso", "burn image",..or something like that....in your CD burning SW.

When you have the CD, reboot the computer, make sure the BIOS is set to boot from CD, and boot up from the CD. From there, it is usually self-explanatory.

i think mine is intel but i cant be completely sure but thank you for the help im getting it a little more now

You can open it up and take a look at it to determine if it is an intel or powerpc. Check the Mac user guide that came with it and read the specifications. Mac might also have a utility to tell you your system information, including processor type and speed. I would suggest trying a live-cd on your Mac to see if it runs before trying to install anything, unless you have a spare hard disk to use.

DON"T open your computer up, all you need to do is click the apple icon in the top menu, then click "system information" There is no need to risk damaging your computer's insides to find out what kind of processor you have.

Actually, I think boot camp is only availiable on Intel, so that probably solves it...