I see where Dell is getting ready to deliver their Open-Source PC's based on Ubuntu.

A very nice Distro.

There is another up and coming upstart distro, which I find even better and easier to use... called PCLINUXOS... at www.pclinuxos.com

Download it, burn it to a CD, and install it as a dualboot system (but backup your data FIRST!!). Then you will have a dualboot Windows - Linux system. (Let me emphasize again... BACK UP YOUR DATA... if you do this. Heck, I'd back up my data if I was upgrading to Vista!!).

Yes, it doesn't do EVERYTHING you have in Windows, but by this time next year, that may be a moot point. It does about everything I need, and it's FREE. Oh, did I mention, it is an out-of-the-box experience? You won't need to download anything to be productive right after the install...