Linux is no longer a geek toy, Linux is for everyone now
Installing Fedora or Ubuntu is so easy. What you need to do is just boot up the Live CD and then click install to install to the harddisk. If you can't live without Windows, have a dual boot. If you just want to experiment Linux, install Linux as a virtual machine. That should give you ample time to familiarize yourself with Linux. Pick a right distro. The link provided by Joe Ess is a good start. I use Ubuntu 8.10 and Fedora 10 and I find both of them are pretty good for newbies.
Most of the time, you can accomplish most of the stuff in Linux with the GUI. But, I recommend you learn to use CLI once you get familiarized with Linux.
Have fun with Linux!