Trying linux for the first time :)

I've been reading the Linux Switchers Guide, and I have to admit I'm interested. I'm using my "old" desktop until Montevina is released, so I have some time to learn something new.
I hope I didn't make a mistake of purchasing the Ubuntu/Kubuntu 8.04 DVD's. Mostly what I'm concerned about, is basic things like email, web browsing, IM, and movies working out of the box until I can familiarize myself with linux.
Are these dvd's Live? It is my understanding, that the cd versions are basic, and you have to install components online, is that correct? Plus I didn't want to wait the 10 or so weeks to get my free cd, so I thought what the heck, and purchased the DVD versions from Amazon.
Other than that, I'm excited to get introduced to linux. Wish me luck!

 

You didn't need to buy CD/DVD's you can download the .iso from their site and burn that onto a disc. That is assuming you have a decent IP to get decent DL speeds. Ubuntu and it's derivatives are very good at hardware detection. For your email/browsing needs there's the Thunderbird mail client and Firefox. For IM you just need pidgin. Lastly for movies there should already be a player installed, however, just for like music, you need to download codecs to play the file (don't worry, it'll say it when you try to open the file, then just select all (just for ease of use for you) the codecs, and let the player DL and install them for you).

They are live discs, the CDs have fewer programs installed so as to keep their size down while DVDs just have more preinstall.
GL in your endeavor!

 

If you're planning to use linux for the first time, i suggest to try out ubuntu with wubi which lets you install linux right from within windows without partitioning your hdd etc.

 

I have a broadband connection through Sprint (phone as modem), but the speed varies depending on traffic, network conditions etc. Sometimes I download at ~20KB, sometimes ~100KB, it just depends.
To be quite honest, I wasn't sure what to get, and I didn't want to have to install a bunch of components later on through the net, so I got the DVD.

 

The DVD actually just allows for you to have a local copy of a larger repository of files, which means you don't have to use the Ubuntu repositories for a package unless there's been an update for that package. The default install is the same regardless of whether you use a CD or DVD.

 

Nice to see my Linux Switcher's Guide bringing some new people in, take a look at my Linux Alternatives to Windows software Guide and some questions should be answered.