[ILUG] Using Linux instead of Windows

[Garrett O' Leary]

Dear Linux users group,

Notwithstanding Antivirus software and Antispyware, I am broken hearted from
pop ups and spam.  I run windows xp on my PC and my laptop.  The PC has
almost ground to a halt because of variious spyware infections which I
cannot seem to shift. I use MS Outlook for one mail address but I also use a
web based MS Outlook.

I have had some success changing to Mozilla Firefox for general browsing but
the web based outlook doesn't handle well in Mozilla so I am still stuck
with Internet Explorer.

For work reasons I must use and share MS Office files and Adobe PDF files. I
also need to use jpeg and gif files and of course I use real player to play
Mp3 files.

Finally, I use a 16 bit application that is connected to a modem on a com
port. This is a critical application.

I really dislike windows and would love to change Operating Systems on both
my laptop and desktop if I could manage it.  What course of action do you
recommend? Will Linux solve my problems and will I be able to run Ms Office
applications by installing an emulator of some sort?

Thank you for your help,
Garrett O' Leary