I have been wanting to play with Linux for sometime i am looking for good resource that would help me learn and set up Linux. I have little to no knowledge on the Linux platforms i grew up with windows and windows is what i know. Any good books that you recommended would be appreciated as well.

Did you have a specific distribution in mind? I was the same way and started with UBUNTU. I ran a Live CD of it and started learning as I went along. Then I did a few school projects in CENT OS.

The good thing about UBUNTU is that there are tons of forums and manuals out there. http://www.ubuntu.com/

thank you

You're welcome, here is some other material that may help your experience:

Here are some tips for ensuring a successful Ubuntu experience. You may want to print this page for your reference.

* Learn how to create a CD from your newly downloaded file: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto
* Learn how to verify that your CD downloaded ok: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HowToMD5SUM
* Read the Ubuntu documentation: https://help.ubuntu.com/
* Get help:
*
o Visit the Ubuntu forums: http://www.ubuntuforums.org/
o Ask questions via e-mail: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-users
o Instant help via online chat: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/XChatHowto
o Commercial, paid support: http://www.ubuntu.com/support/paid
* Join the Ubuntu community, there are many ways to get involved.