RatedPC has posted a 20 page article on Linux for the desktop

Linux is a stable, efficient, and extremely flexible OS. Its great flexibility brings with itself a lot of complexity; everything in Linux is configurable. While this is great for power users, new users are easily frustrated at having to configure every application before they can use it. In a sense, not everybody has the time and patience to configure every aspect of their OS and that's why distributions (distros) have be made where everything is already preset for users. With so many different distros, it is easy to find one that you feel most comfortable with. Once you are used to using Linux, you can take that distro and modify it to your needs and wants.

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