Debian
Now a word about Debian
I am a big fan of Debian, I am happy to admit it, I am not someone who wants to tell you which Linux distribution you should be using, the answer to that is this, try some, most have live images these days and I would recommend you try a few out. Are any of them better than others? The answer to this is yes but only in that Linux is not one thing, it's many things to different people. For example if you want want a version of Linux that closest resembles the MAC OS then you may want to look at Elementary, if you want a very cut down version of Linux to run on very old or very limited hardware then you may want to look at Puppy Linux, there is no simple answer to that question.
Another question I get asked is can I run this Windows program or that Windows game. Short answer is this. Linux is not Windows it's Linux just like Mac OS is not Windows. If you want to run Windows, go and buy a copy, or go and buy an expensive new machine that has Windows pre-installed and please enjoy your Windows life. Having said that there are some instances where some Windows applications can run under Linux but frankly I don't care and I am not interested.
I run Linux for many reasons one of those reasons is my dislike of proprietary software another one of those reasons is my dislike of Mac OS and Windows so really I am not the right person to ask this question. So having said all of that why do I like Debian? Well it's stable, it works generally the way I want it to, it's versatile and it's reliable. Now you may or may not want to run it but if you are interested then below is a basic installation tutorial. If you are looking for a more complex install you may want to look elsewhere, if you have an existing Windows installation you want to keep and share the same drive as Debian, look elsewhere because this won't cover that.
** WARNING THIS INSTALLATION WILL DELETE THE CONTENTS OF YOUR HARD DRIVE **
MAKE SURE YOU BACK UP ANY DATA YOU WANT TO KEEP AND MAKE SURE YOU DON'T WANT THAT COPY OF WINDOWS YOU HAVE INSTALLED.
!! You Have Been Warned !!