I'm making the leap, but failing miserably! That I'll take up in the forums, though.

My name is Mark, but no one other than my wife & mother have used it in forty years. Everyone just calls me "Bull".

I'm a US Navy(Submarine Service veteran, disabled. One of my daughters is serving now. I'm the father of six, (3 each), and a devoted husband. My largest interests around here are my gardens and my amateur radio habit. I'm also a Freemason and am very active in the local Lodge, Scottish Rite, & O.E.S. just to fill in any left over time I support the Masonic Youth groups - and - our family owns & operates an exotic animal rescue. We live just outside of the beautiful & historic city of Mobile, AL - the home of Mardi Gras. (Not that other city...!)

Enough about me. On to the Knowledge! Maybe I'll learn how to get the blinkin' system to install!!

easy enough, put cd in cd tray turn on the computer and follow directions if it fails give us more information

Howdy Bull. Former Jarhead here. You'll figure it out with practice. No body is born knowing this stuff.

Welcome Bull! I'm also a former sailor (spent most of my time in the 6th fleet in Naples, Italy).

Linux is extremely rewarding but it can have a heck of a learning curve. I recommend going with a well supported distribution like Fedora, Linux Mint, or Ubuntu. Once you install refer to the everything guides to help you get the most out of your new system:

Unofficial Fedora Guide
Unofficial Ubuntu Guide

These portals will remove most of the mystery and get right down to how to do what you want!

What rokytnji said: We were all newbies once.

Linux is not difficult, but it is different. It's important not to expect it to act like Windows, because it won't.

Here are some links I recommend for starters:

http://linux.about.com/. It's oriented to Ubuntu, but it's full of good info. An excellent starting point.

http://tille.garrels.be/training/tldp/. Machtelt Garrels Intro to Linux. I keep a copy on my bookshelf. Wait till you have a few weeks of experience before reading it.

http://www.slackbook.org/. Slackware oriented, but excellent on the basics, such as file structure, permissions, and the like.

You should mark this post as SOLVED

Welcome Bull! Thank you for your service to our country.

HERE's a little something you might find helpful.

~Eric

Thanks!