Linux laptop help...

I'm jumping feet-first into linux. I'm buying my first laptop, and I'm looking a linux pre-installed. I've tinkered on a friend's linux-box, and have read lots about the OS, so I'm very ready to get down and dirty with it. Here's my issue, though:

As I'm looking around, the best price/features system I've found (actually my third choice... #1 and #2 were sold out) has Linspire on it. I know that is a good starting Linux distro, but I'm not sure I want to be babied as much, and I don't really like the repository CNR add-on. I wouldn't mind keeping it a little while while I learn my way around the OS and all, but I'm 90% sure I don't want it in the long term. I'd much rather a Fedora, as I feel they have the more grassroots approach.

How hard is it to switch OS from linux to linux? Will I lose anything I have installed while using Linspire? Is Fedora up-to-par with laptops (wi-fi, DVD/CD-RW, AMD Athalon) and seamless installs? Is this a matter of CD-booting, or is it a reformat the HD sort of thing?

thanks for any advice!!!

edit: anyone know if the CNR stuff is the only available apps for the Linspire, or can 'regular' linux apps be installed?

AFAIK, the CNR software is just a layer over standard APT. My advice is to keep it there and use Synaptic or APT directly with Debian repositories. That means "regular" apps can be installed... you just don't get support for them if they didn't come from CNR.

I've been using Linux constantly since 1999: Fedora is probably the last distro I would choose. If you want community-oriented, then you can't beat Debian or Debian-derrived distros (and that includes Linspire, Xandros, Ubuntu, Kanotix and many others).

If you don't want to be babied, I might suggest you just consider using a paper notebook with a pencil instead. If you like computers for automation, then look for a distro that 'just works'. It is better to have a widely-useful system out of the box where you can get under the hood at your leisure and on your own terms, than to have the OS constantly putting you into "chase your tail" mode and rubbing your nose in a galaxy of inconsistency and Gerry-rigging that most people could not possibly imagine.

Replacing one Linux with another is simple. That doesn't mean it will work right. You probably will lose tons of functionality moving from Linspire to Fedora: DVD, Windows Media, QuickTime playback (incl. web page content) and I would bet a handful of your most needed laptop features.

I don't understand your "CD-booting" question. Most installers will have you boot from CD, and then erase your old install on the HD once you proceed with installation. Existing programs WILL be erased unless you configure for dual-boot. Other than that, you can leave Linspire on the HD and use another distro as a "Live CD" where you boot and run the distro from CD, but nothing is installed to HD.

Linspire has one notable flaw: It defaults to using the 'root' Administrator account. Just create a normal user account for yourself and that'll take care of that.

Where are you finding these laptops?