[Ham-Computers] Linux and Firefox

[Jerry K]

Question 1:
I tried Red Hat about 3 years ago, but finding software and drivers for
sound cards, various peripherals, etc. turned into more of an exercise than
I was willing to put up with at the time. I'd like to give it another try,
but was wondering if the newer versions of Linux are any easier to deal
with, and if the available application and driver software has improved.
Just for info, on a 10-point PC knowledge scale, I'm probably about a 7 or
8, but certainly don't qualify as a full geek. I run XP Pro, broadband via
DHCP satellite, a router, and a local 100MB ethernet with a couple of other
XP machines on it, one of which is 500' away via a switch installed halfway.
Main machine is 2.8G Dell with 500MB/80G, network machines are a 1.2G Athlon
w/296MB/30G/XP Home, and an old Dell PII/366 laptop, also XP Home. I am not
in a big hurry to switch from XP (all are SP2), because I have fortunately
had no significant hacker/virus/crash problems with my current setup. XP and
IE seem to work fine, as long as I remember to reboot about once a week. I
was just feeling the urge to experiment again with Linux.

Question 2:
How about some opinions from XP users who are on Firefox instead of IE? Is
the switchover really worth it? Will Firefox run ok with Linux?

Tks,
Jerry W5KP