Originally posted here by David Skism
I didnt realize how many different Linux operating systems their are.
Hundreds or thousands

is there any thing I should know about before installing this like do I have to have a network card? Video card? Sound Card? Will I be able to access the internet with this new Operating systems? Help newbie lost!
If you got a "normal" pc it will work, linux works on most hardware, only one thing to remember: no software modems, software modems (better known as winmodems) are a pain in the ass.. They don't work well with linux (hence the name winmodems).

Soundcards (even onboard) usualy work without a problem.

Videocards are sometimes difficult to install but SuSE 8.0 does a hell of a job outodetecting them, so if you haven't got a to "exotic" videocard it shouldn't be a problem.

Network cards are the best supported part of linux, so that wouldn't be a problem..