Mandriva has quite a reputation for creating Linux distributions well suited for beginners coming from Windows. They have several paid-for versions but with the release of Mandriva 2007 a free version has been released.

A free Live CD has been available for a while but this version includes more software. This can be downloaded as three CD images or as a single DVD.

Installation is simple and Mandriva has one of the best hard disk partitioning tools of all Linux distributions. All the partitions on the disk are shown graphically and Windows partitions can be resized to make enough space. This takes most of the stress over what can be a dangerous part of installation.

There is a good selection of software included in this distribution including the latest version of Open Office. The full version includes a legal DVD player and the Cedega software for playing Windows games on Linux. The cheapest version, Discovery, costs €45 from http://store.mandriva.com. Other software in the paid-for version includes Kaspersky Antivirus and Arkeia backup software.

If you plan to use Mandriva 2007 on a reasonably fast computer it includes a 3D desktop without requiring any complicated installation. If you can't wait for Aero Glass on Vista to show off a good graphics card, this is an excellent alternative, and with much lower video requirements.

Getting updates can be automated although this means creating a Mandriva account (requires an email address) and sending information about your installation to Mandriva. The wizard claims that the only information sent is the list of software installed and the hardware configuration of the computer. Some might feel that this is an invasion of privacy but it seems a fair exchange for a free Operating System as well as updates for it.

Sadly the automatic web install did not work as there were no mirrors set up for this version. Hopefully this will be fixed soon.

An interesting feature included in Mandriva 2007 is the option to retain the root password when performing administrative tasks on the computer. For those unfamiliar with Linux, the root user account can do anything on the computer and so is only used on special occasions; ordinary users have restrictions to prevent accidents.

For the sake of convenience, the root password can be entered without having to log on. When this is done on Mandriva 2007 a small badge appears in what would be the Notification area. Once you have finished it can be removed to return to ordinary use.

Setting up a wireless network connection was about the easiest for a Linux distribution. The only caveat to this is having the wireless adapter supported by Mandriva. However, the ndiswrapper software is included in the setup wizard so the Windows drivers can be used instead.

Using a modem also revealed a lack of drivers (not unusual in the Linux world) along with a message that the drivers could be obtained by joining the Mandriva Club or buying a commercial version. An alternative link for finding drivers was out of date but did eventually lead to the correct site.

Also consider:
Microsoft Windows Vista RC1
A worthy successor to XP. It will change the way you work, if your system is powerful enough to run it

Ubuntu 6.06 LTS Linux distribution
Ubuntu 6.06 LTS is a good starting point for the small business looking to use Linux as either a server or desktop platform

Apple Boot Camp software
Still in its beta stage, but it's a minor miracle to get Windows running on a Mac with such little hassle and no obvious performance penalty