Regarding speed. One single threaded program with the exact same code should run with nearly identical speed under most any OS using the same hardware. When an application is running with nothing much else going on it will get most of the CPU time and the OS has little to do with it at this point.
Now, some things that make Linux better: stable, secure, no viruses, no spyware, source included, many more apps available that would cost you thousands upon thousands of dollars from Microsoft, development tools included that would cost thousands of dollars from Microsoft, the operating system does not assume you are an idiot, the more you learn the more you realize that Linux is infinitely more powerful, etc.
Note that I did not say faster, however being more powerful allows you to do many daily tasks much more efficiently, saving time, which ultimately means faster but not in the way that you are thinking. Now initially the reverse will be true, you will certainly not be efficient in the learning stages.
And it *is* harder to learn than Windows but that is because there is a lot *more* to learn. But eventually you will reach that threshold where you break through and really start "getting it". That's when it starts getting fun. And the fun continues exponentially from that point on. Hell, I'm still learning and grinning after 10 years.
The threshold point for me was probably somewhere around the first month of using UNIX. But at that time it was my job and I worked at it 8-12 hours a day during that month.
And the RedHat suggestion might not be a bad idea. I can help you with most anything there. I never liked Mandrake which is just a forked version of RedHat anyway and because of that I don't use it, and can't help much with Mandrake specific issues.
[ September 06, 2002: Message edited by: void main ]