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While I'm definitely not a hardcore Nix user (unless you count the Darwin kernel in Mac OS X) I've always heard that Slackware is for the technical types.
Debian is supposed to be much easier for beginners to upgrade and manage than Slackware. If that's the route you wish to go -- check out this website and do a search for "Debian tutorials."
<a href="http://www.aboutdebian.com/">http://www.aboutdebian.com/</a>
<b>The following link is a great place to start. I am currently going through the steps for installing Debian GNU. Follow page by page until completion.
http://www.linux.org/lessons/beginner/l1/lesson1e.html</b>
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CalendarGirl, do you have a preferred Linux distribution in mind?
I was thinking Debian but I’m too gnu to have any real preference. Whatever has the lowest learning curve? I hear that Slackware is good but you really have to get your hands dirty and I don’t know if I have the time.
Ubuntu is a debian based distro. I have found it easy to use and since it is based on debian, a large user support community and programs for installation.
Slackware and Debian both require quite som knowledge about Unix, file systems, disk partitions, etc. to get going comfortably. These are more for the *nix afficionados, with quite some experience.
For sheer ease of use you should go for either Ubuntu or Open SuSE. Fedora is also directed towards people coming from the Win side of the world = beginners.
Whichever distro You choose, be prepared to study and read a lot. It is not Windows! A lot of things behave differently; most of us say better, but at least differently.
Good Luck!