Hi, I want to swicth over to Mandrake but I"m a really big Windows user, and I'm worried about compatibility ,such as with Word Docs and Games and just about everything including software. I have seen in screenshots people runing Microsoft word in Mandrake without any sort of virtual windows. I really want to start using Linux and go out and buy mandrake but these are just some of my concerns

I would suggest OpenOffice over emulating Microsoft Office. As far as games, it will only run if there is a linux version (games like Unreal Tournament 2004, Quake3, etc do have linux versions but most games dont)

To run Windows applicarion in linux try "Win4Lin" http://www.netraverse.com You can play Windows games in linux with the help of "winex". http://www.transgaming.com Good Luck.

Why not dual boot and then you can still use windows when you need to.

My opinion is to run VMware, it allows both Linux and Windows to be on your system. I am going to Mandrake 10 myself and this is how I plan to do it as I have an iPod that I'm not departing with :-) Personally I can't wait to get out of Windows, but there are a few programs I will need it to stick around for such as ITunes. I think a lot more of the new games coming will be Linux compatible, at least I'm sure hoping. If you simply want Linux alone, you can give Wine a try, but from what I've heard you can't use it for too many software apps.

By the way, VMware will keep Windows from taking over the entire system if something goes wrong, unlike a dual boot system. That was the reason I recommended it over a dual boot.

Thanks all of you for your help but one more question are there any hardware and network problems with Linux.