Tiggermoth
Use search and you'll find several threads about Linux & Windows and how the differences manifest themselves.
The big thing I would say is that it down to how much you want to use your PC quickly and how much you want to support it yourself. Try Mepis or Ubuntu, you can load off the CD and try it out without having to install on your hard drive to see if you like it.
To give an example the PC I use has Windows XP & Ubuntu 6.10. Win XP loads & I can get the driver support for my Wireless card loaded - time to get it up and running and ready to go was about 2 hours.
Ubuntu took a lot of work to get the wireless adaptor in place, including loading source code and compiling the code. Similarly getting media working took a long time - so time to get it up & running at the same level as Windows was probably abut 10 hours plus I had to have access to the internet in order to get access to the internet.
I've said it before & I'll say it again - if you want an easy life, it can't be guaranteed with Linux to the same extent as it can with Windows. But if you have patience, and want to learn something about computers & software then Linux is a much better place to learn - just be prepared for it to take time.