Ubuntu 6.06
Yes, it is BADLY out of date, but most of these software choices still stand today. (Of course, this applies to any Gnome-based linux distro.) When I get more time, I will add things, like games and entertainment things.
Those who know me know I like to play around with Linux from time to time. Don't worry, I hate the attitude of the self-righteous Linux kids at Slash-Dot just as much as you. I've used Fedora Core off and on for a year or so now. While it is a nice distro, it is also very incomplete. Stanton Finley put together an excellent set of Installation Notes. While this helps to make FC a workable system, it's a chore to do that much work, especially when OS X is ready out of the box.
Enter Ubuntu 6.06. With its new graphical installation system and EasyUbuntu, you can have your system installed and ready to go almost instantly. I can't tell you what a godsend EasyUbuntu is. It automatically installs everything you'd have to do manually in FC.
Ubuntu is extremely fast and doesn't waste it time with a bunch of needless programs you'll never use. I had to download quite a few programs (for internet stuff), but it's worth it not to have to install 20 or so that take up hard-drive space and slows down the system.
The following are a few software recommendations. Remember, Ubuntu uses Gnome. For those who prefer KDE, you should download Kubuntu. For the most part, XP fans will be more happy with KDE, while OS X fans tend to prefer Gnome.
Bluefish -- A great text editor with support for HTML, XHTML and CSS. If you don't mind programming by hand, this is a great program.
Liferea -- Excellent RSS feed reader. I'd rate it equal with NetNewsWireLite.
Xchat -- For some strange reason my install of Ubuntu did not include X-Chat. If you chat on IRC, this is a necessity.
Pan -- Excellent usenet newsreader. I've only used it for text groups, so I'm not sure how it handles multi-part binaries. I should probably test that out later today.
Gftp -- FTP client. A must have if you still work with non-dynamic web pages.
I've not tried this program, but I will when I boot the other machine: Gnome Blog -- From the screenshot it looks like it doesn't support the categories option, but I'm sure it can easily be found with a bit of prodding.
Otherwise, you're pretty much ready to go. Remember, I'm a geek who loves to try out new programs, so you might not need these programs at all.
I have released my text works under a Creative Commons Licence.