Can I get Lnx off the net w/o a disk?
 

I've never installed an OS ; can I download & install Linux off the net without a disk? If not, what makes an OS different from other software? Can anyone explain? Thanks.

The closest thing i can think of to what you're describing is knoppix; it's a fully functional linux system that boots off of a CD. Though, now that I reread your post, you may have been asking why you need an install CD to install Linux. Hoo boy. You may want to start with a distro that installs onto a windows partition, like a normal windows program(I know there are some, but I forget what they're called).

Does BeOS?

umm you can get a boot floppy image off of the SuSE ftp and boot from that and do an FTP install.... but if your a complete :newbie: then i would not suggest that, go with the disks if you can :)

What, not even Windows?

The Operating System is the underlying system on which all software runs. Other software programs need the operating system to let them run. (http://dictionary.reference.com/sear...ng+system&r=67 for a description)

While you can install SuSE (and other Linux OSes) via ftp, you do need to know what you are doing. As p-static says, Knoppix may be a good choice for you - it runs entirely off the cd - no installation required (unless you want to save your settings).

Also, when you do come to burn your cds, I like to use www.linuxiso.org to get my isos. Other links you may find helpful are:
http://linuxiso.org/viewdoc.php/introtolinux.html - an introduction to Linux
http://linuxiso.org/viewdoc.php/isofaq.html - FAQs about Linux
http://linuxiso.org/viewdoc.php/verifyiso.html - how to verify your iso download is ok
http://linuxiso.org/viewdoc.php/howtoburn.html - how to burn isos to disk
www.distrowatch.org - huge number of reviews of various distros
http://www.linuxquestions.org/reviews/index.php?cat=2 - our review section

Also, in my signature is a link to the RUTE Users Tutorial and Exposition (aka RUTE - get used to self-referential acronyms. See also GNU (GNU's Not Unix) and WINE (WINE Is Not an Emulator) :)) RUTE is an enormous book with a huge amount of Linux knowledge - it has helped a lot of people.