[ardour-users] Total newbie switching from XP to Linux and Ardour

[Joel Laviolette]

As the subject says, I am completely new to Linux even
though I've been contemplating the move for a long
time.  If I have missed the info I'm needing, please
feel free to provide me with a link.  I'm not really
sure where to find the info I need, and I apologise in
advance for the redundancy if this question has been
asked before.  My system is:

Athlon 3300+ (2.2Ghz)
250 Meg RAM
40 Gig primary hard drive
120 Gig audio hard drive
Terratec EWS88D sound card

I'm not even sure which version of Linux I should be
putting onto my computer to start with.  This computer
will be used strictly for audio tracking and editing. 
My plan is to be doing most of my work out of the box
and then dumping from reel-to-reel via AD/DA into
ardour.  Then basic editing will be done.  I also have
most of my equipment as hardware, so plug-in's aren't
essential to me.  I plan on doing only editing and
mastering in the box (minus compression, etc) and then
dumping to two-track.   I can and probably will also
be wanting to upgrade my converters in the future.  

Any tips or places I should start?

Thanks.
Joel