[ale] Linux on laptops

[Sigmascape1 at cs.com]

Hello!

Just a quick question. What Linux distribution would you guys suggest if I wanted to replace WinXP Home on my Sony Vaio laptop? My laptop is about 1.5 years old, 1 GHz Athlon, 20 Gig drive. Also, are there sites that can tell me how to replace WinXP effectively? It is a newbie-type question, but I have little experience in replacing WinXP. I have found that replaces Win98 to be very easy, but never have dealt with removing XP.

Thanks!
Mitch