New user/potential convert

[Stewart]

I was in a class at university of Phoenix, (not computer related), and a
fellow student named Mike did a presentation on Linux.  I was so fascinated
I went out and purchased a second home computer.  I now have a Compaq
Presario, and an HP.  I would like to set one up as a Linux machine.  While
I am not computer illiterate, I certainly am not a techie.  I have read on
linux.com about mandrake being a pretty user friendly installation.  Is this
what you would recommend, and also which machine would be better suited to
accept the installation?

P.S. I hope to also meet some of you at the user meetings in January.