Although I am not under-appreciating any Linux distro out there, maybe you should've tried out some of the more mainstream ones for starters [if you are just starting with Linux]. They have huge community support and better installers. With some of the 'common' distros there is a similar interactivity from the user as that mentioned Windows 98.

However Linux is not as easy to install/use because it gives you a lot of options... sometimes more than most people are used to. So in that sense, if you just want to use the OS, straight from the box, you're definitely better off with FC or Mandrake or something like so.

And always read the installation instruction