Just another newbie stuck

Has anyone had a problem getting to Freespire forums? I installed it yesterday am everything seemed to go well with a complete install. When I tried to set up wireless I ran into a stone wall. The network settings was completely different than the one in the user manual and would not configure like the one in the manual. I even tried a network settings pkg. I got off the CNR. I went into the forums and filled the registration and waited for the confirmation email, ( I am still waitng ) this is now 38 hours with 4 quiries even an email to one of the founders. While waiting I believe I found a couple other things not working to well. This is the newest version to, the 2.0.8 I got via mail. I am about ready to take it off and try something else. I have 8 total I received, Debian 4.0, Fedora 9, OpenSuse 11.0, Mandriva 2008.1, Ubuntu 8.04, Free BSD 6.3 and Open Solaris. Can any one tell me which disto would be a good choice for a beginner, I have several sites bookmarked for reference commands etc. The machine I am trying for Linux is a Dell Inspiron 1150 lap top I have 2 hard drives to experiment with a 60 gb and a 80 gb, also a 512 memory, intel celeron 2.6 ghz. I also have a third with xp on it. I keep it next to my desk top so I can look things up while experimenting. I would appreciate any feedback on which os would be good for beginner. I have trouble with the commands though I see a command to use but it won't work because I don't know which prompt to put at the beginning. Thank you ahead of time! RichardM