I am going to tell you what I would do personally because of course you have to make your own decisions. I would not put the money into that machine, it has way too many limitations and is quite outdated. However that machine would be a good option to load a linux distro on and start learning linux and yes it is easy enough to use that someone with no knowledge of it can do it, I did. Now I use linux daily and rarely use windows (except to do the windows updates and all those scans LOL) For the purchase you can get some very good deals right now on a pc that would fit your needs well, I personally like xp better than vista and it is still available on a lot of pcs. If you choose not to buy new you can find really good deals on used computers with xp on them. I got a great pc off of craigslist recently. I would just start doing some shopping and look around at what is available for the price you are willing to pay, I have seen some great systems lately in the $500 range. As to linux my personal fave distro is SimplyMepis7 it is extremely user friendly and one of the easiest to go to from Windows in my opinon, I tried a few others including ubuntu but just really like Mepis, everything just works. There are great forums around to help you. I am not a linux geek, I do not do a lot of command line stuff, these days there is great GUI so it is possible to do linux with out a lot of deep command line knowledge, but that is always something you could learn if you wanted to. I use my Mepis daily I am on it now, I rarely ever have to reboot, I get my updates and they rarely require a reboot, I use it for pretty much everything I need, there are tons of free programs that cover a lot of aspects of what most people use and need. You can access the repositories of those programs with a program built in to your linux distro, on mine that is synaptic, Just log into synaptic, search for the programs I want, select them and have them install, it is that simple. Plus each distro comes with a LOT of great programs right on the cd. You can run linux right off the cd in your cd drawer of your windows pc to see how you like it with out ever having to install anything. Feel free to ask what ever you want to know. Try some searches at like buy.com for computers where you can select your price range and see some of the stuff that turns up. Locally walmart and sams and costco have some good buys now too. If you have a Big Lots near you they are handling much of the Circuit city sell out and have some great prices on computers. Here is the link to one of their online specials. Here is a link that might be useful: HP Pavilion

to actually install ubuntu on the same hard drive as xp you have to set up a dual boot, you would have to create a partition for your ubuntu to live on, which entails using the partition program that is on the live cd, probably Gparted, you then make the windows partition smaller and from that new free space you create the partition for linux. This is the most dangerous part because if you do it wrong you can wipe out your entire windows partition, so it is usually best to get help from someone who has experience if you feel you are not up to the task. Once you have the partition set up the rest is basically naming the proper areas for your root, swap, what ever you want to set up. What happens after it is set up as a dual boot system is that when you boot up it will present you with a boot screen that lets you select which you want to boot to the xp or the linux. I bet there is a linux users group (LUG) around you somewhere, they are a great resource and very helpful to new linux users, in fact most have an install day about once a month or so where you can bring your computer up there to where they meet and they will help you do your install. Look up linux user groups on google and see where the nearest one is. I have ubuntu 7.10 and Mepis 7.0 dual boot system on one of my computers. I have not upgraded to ubuntu 8.04 yet because it is still a bit buggy, I am happy with 7.10 so will wait a while till some of the stuff gets worked out, like all new distro upgrades there is that break in period. What ever you do before you attempt to set up a dual boot with windows BACK UP every single thing, if possible do an image with Acronis True Image or some image program, because I have seen way too many people come crying to the linux forums about losing windows, be safe not sorry. I love linux I am using Mepis right now, I never surf the net on windows anymore, for day to day use I only use linux. this is a link to a good guide. Here is a link that might be useful: partitioning

Personally I wish everyone would either use a linux live cd or add Linux to their pc in a separate partition or use the wubi installer to put it into windows itself. At any rate it should be what everyone uses to do their day to day activities online, like surfing, going to forums, checking your web mail, anything like that should be done using linux and there would be much less infections happening. It is so easy to do and so easy to use for those simple chores there really is no reason not to do it. I never surf using windows anymore just too many websites that have been infected and are spreading nasty bugs. Surfing with linux no worries they can't affect you. There is on a daily basis normally nothing I have to switch over to my windows pc for. But should I need it for some of the programs that I use on windows then I do just that switch to that pc do my work there then go back to linux to hit the internet. Using linux to do that kind of simple stuff is a breeze. Plus if you already use firefox you wont' notice you are on linux since you will be using firefox there also. And you can save your bookmarks file from your windows firefox and import it to the linux firefox and have all your faves right there there. Running on live cd will be slower of course than installing it but it is great for starting out so you can see how to use it and not mess anything up. I put up that link to how to order the free cd just for that reason I wish everyone here would go ahead and order at least one to have on hand should your windows ever die on you at least with the live cd handy you can get in and save your files off. I am by no means a linux pro but I sure do know some so anytime anyone needs help please just ask and if I don't know the answer I will find someone who can help! They are very helpful people, and forums available. There is a somewhat new way to use linux on your windows pc using the wubi installer, this is included on the ubuntu and kubuntu live cd. With wubi you choose to install linux to your windows just as if it were any other type of program. Say like you are installing AVG it puts it in it's own folder then if you ever want to get rid of it you go to add remove programs and select it and hit remove. That is what wubi does, it installs linux in windows as a program in it's own folder and does not interfere with anything else on your windows system, if you decide you no longer want it go to add remove programs find it in the list and hit remove. You can select how large you want to let the linux folder be when you install it. here are a couple screenshots to show how simple it is. Screenshots WubiGuide This is yet another way to get linux using wubi Installing Ubuntu From A Windows System With Wubi so lots of ways to get it and use it with out messing with your windows area at all.

Please pardon this quick deviation. I've read this forum, off and on, for about 5 years. "majickmann" seemed familiar, but figured that it is German for "magic man", which is a long-time favorite song by Heart. Then, I realized that for the very reason above, I remember a majickmann that used to post to this forum. Are you the same person? I took your advice, ravencajun, to read the AVG posts. And, I must say that was an abrasive post by majickmann. So, majickmann, you certainly could have been nicer. "Blindly" was definitely crossing the line. But, I don't see what is wrong with the rest of his posts, including the two posts above. They have been polite and informative. In your post above, I had understood the links are to installation instructions for Kubuntu and Ubuntu 8.04. And, that "the distro number versions are out dated now since there is a new version". It seems very clear to me that there is a newer version Ubuntu (8.10), so I would want to download it. And, I could use the tutorials even though they were for the out dated version. Majickmann's reply was polite and provided an explanation about the two version of Ubuntu. While I understood what he said, just like on the Ubuntu pages, this is where majickmann probably should have explained the meaning of long term support. Because I did not understand why anyone would want to install an out dated version. So, I turned to my husband, the IT guru. (He really is.) Basically, my husband said that many people want the long term support version because the environment is stable and is supported for 3 or 5 years. That would be me. I don't want to "upgrade" every 6 months. The other people, for varying reasons, want to be "on the bleeding edge" or want the improvements associated with the newer version. So, they may upgrade or install the newest version as soon as it's available. So, the 8.04 version is actually the newest Long Term Support version while 8.10 is, for lack of a better term, the newest bleeding edge version. I'm confused with your last reply, for example, "I no where stated that the older versions were no longer available." You certainly did not make that statement, but, neither did majickmann. I hope each of you take my comments to heart. They are not meant to belittle anyone. Again, I find myself apologizing for the long winded post. But, it is my last post. espicer, I'm sorry we got so far off topic. I thought it would be good to contribute to the forum that has given me so much over the years. But, I now know that I'm just not a poster. It is too easy for misunderstandings over the simplest words or ideals. And, while I have the opportunity, thanks to everyone for the help and guidance over the past 5 or 6 years, especially cboy, mikie, owbist, majickmann, and most recently, ravencajun. Happy Holidays, Mimi