thanks guys. it all sounds good, since i am the kind of person who finds exploring an OS enjoyable.i think i am going to install ubuntu (or possibly kubuntu. recommendations either way anyone?) first in a dual boot on the computer i use now. once i get comfortable with that i will probably make the change to another distro like the one velocitas recommended. i see it as always being a dual boot really. no reason not to have them both handy right.cliff122316

[QUOTE="cliff122316"]my question for linux users is how user friendly is it really?Velocitas8

Depends on the distro. Ubuntu is one distro that focuses on user-friendliness..it's very easy to install, has a nice, simple package manager and a pre-configured desktop environment.

how quickly will i pick it up?cliff122316

Well, if you just stick with something like Ubuntu..not very quickly. If you're interested in actually *learning* how Linux works, you'll want another distro. What I would recommend is first getting your feet wet with Ubuntu..install it and get familiar with some of the applications (especially the package manager), then maybe play around with the terminal enough that you can get to understand how to navigate in the command-line interface, and so that you know how to do basic file manipulation. Once you've done that, I'd suggest taking the plunge in to something like Arch Linux (my personal favorite distro.) Arch is probably the absolute best learning distro, good for beginner and advanced users alike, as it allows you to set up and customize every major component of your operating system. It's alot easier than it sounds though, as there's detailed documentation on the Wiki to assist you, and you'll learn a great deal in the process.