Getting Started with Linux

One of my goals for 2008 is to be able to understand Linux and use it effectively. So I've been doing alot of reading on it, and I was hoping somebody could answer a few questions for me:

1. Is there a distribution is that is considered the best for newbies to install and learn on?
2. I've been trying to find reviews of the different distributions that compares them all, but I'm not having much luck. Is there some central locatin that tells you briefly the different between say Fedora vs Red Hat or anything like that?
3. One of the things I'm thinking of trying out is the Live CD version via USB drive - assuming I configure the USB drive properly, do I have to do anything to my bios to tell it to boot from the USB drive? I know previously that you had options in the bios to load from a CD if it was there, but it was an optional setting - do I need to set something like this?
4. If you use a Live CD version, how does Linux save any configuration data that you use? I can see how it can save config data to a USB drive, but if you boot from a CD how does it save any config data?

Thanks

 

-Do not use any kind of live cd
-Do not use that damn mouse
-First learn the file system before installing the system
-Do not start with simple distros, go for the one you will use forever cos some distros are really different from each other (gent00 vs fedora for instance, you say "WTF?" when you switch them )
-i recommend starting and using gent00

PS : i installed my gent00 box 4 years ago, there was not any install gui when i did that but in 2006 gentoo announced their official gui based installers, THO i didnt test it.(prepare to compile the kernel )

If you dont have time , install ubuntu

 

I'll second gentoo. It will be difficult, but there is no other distro with such excellent documentation and extremely helpful forum.

[rootbinbash: I hated when they discontinued stage1]

 

Debian user for over six years. I've used Fedora, Redhat, Ubuntu (Debian based), Mandrake, Mandriva, etc, etc.. Debian's business card install (believe it's 32 megs) is fantastic. Quick, and doesn't come with a bunch of unnecessary crap I'm never going to use. Turns out I need something, it's as easy as:

and it's done.