Word, X11.
RH9 is the perfect choice. GNOME reminds me more of Mac OS (9 more than 10) than KDE does, especially by default. It's also the best-made Linux OS, and has the least issues. I'll certainly help ya with any problems you have. There's one thing that makes it particularly easy and that's apt-rpm. I'll show you how to use it when you get RH9 installed.
BTW you don't have to wait until RH puts it on their FTP, you can use bit torrent (forgot the link, google for it)