Important things to remember about Linux for newbies:
ONE
If you install new packages, update packates, or most importantly recompile and reinstall your kernel, reboot immediately. This will supply you with extra time for when you realize that your drivers don't work, your mouse is strangely inverted, and the screen is a delightful shade of yellow. Reboot immediately does not mean 'finish your conversation,' but it does mean 'save your work on something tangible in case it all goes to hell.'
TWO
Nothing will work like the docs say it will. Your vain attempts to install that network driver will fail due to things you never had to understand before. In addition, your ability to actually fix and resolve these things will involve sitting on a thread you made in a forum, reloading periodically to see if someone has any information for you. This is not fun, but it takes a while for Linux to become fun.
THREE
Know how partitions work, and know what a boot loader is. That is, if you ever want to see the light of windows again. Sacrilige, I know, but sometimes you just need an internet connection and you need it now. Or a game of Starcraft sounds applealing.
FOUR
Don't panic. And especially don't panic if you start panicing. That only complicates things. What you should do is get on a friend's computer and use it as your repair station. Fit of depression due to feelings of inadequacy is optional, but, at least in early stages, strongly encouraged.
FIVE
Keep your install disks. You will reinstall. Trust me.
SIX
Nothing was found under "SIX". Try "man -k SIX" or "info SIX" for possible help on the topic.
SEVEN
chmod is your friend. Your quiet, +rwx friend. It may be bad form, but damn it, that shell script is the only thing standing between you and mouse wheel support, and be damned if anyone can execute it.
EIGHT
That graphical XWindows KDE bullshit? Yeah. Not that useful, except for the drag-and-drop file aspect. That's about it, so get cozy with that command prompt.
NINE
That thing everyone warned you about, how you shouldn't ever log in as root, only use su? They were right. Trust me.
TEN
Frankly, your milage may vary. This is all from my personal experience, over the course of one week where I've had Fedora Core 3 working without internet, uninstalled and unable to install windows back due to GRUB being retarded, installed again, this time with the appropriate driver, updated, rebooted, found by computer no longer operational, reinstalled, and now no longer able to install the driver.
Well, now to reload the forum again.