Linux is the primary operating system on my dual-boot system. I use it for a few reasons. The primary reason being its superior stability. For now I use windows only for games and to install new hardware (to make sure its working). There is a misconception that there isn't a lot of software for Linux. Whenever software is needed people just code it. I'll discuss software later.

If you are considering installing linux on your computer, I would recommend the Mandrake 7.2 distribution. Redhat is popular as the Os for servers, but Mandrake is much better on desktop PC's.

Here are sample screenshots of my desktop.
Screenshot 1
Screenshot 2

Hardware Tips

I've found howto's to enable UDMA (which is off by default for some reason in Mandrake 7.2) for my harddrive on www.linuxnewbie.org. That site also helped me to configure my 8x IDE burner.