As an aside, I think this is one of the best ways to start learning about Linux in any case - if you jump in with one of the megadistros like Suse or Mandriva, you get lulled into a false sense of security because they're superficially similar to Windows, followed by frustration and disillusionment as you're inevitably forced at some stage to the realisation there's a very different beast lurking just below the surface.
If you start with a simple specific task in mind, such as setting up a fileserver, firewall or whatever, you research and learn just the necessary bits at first without being overwhelmed by it all, but on the way you tend to automatically pick up the basic nuts and bolts of Linux, and then you're that much better equipped if you decide to use it as an all-round OS...
