Those interested on starting out Linux, take a look at this guide.
http://www.linuxlinks.com/portal/news/staticpages/index.php?page=20070528093134661Some of the terms used there:
General purpose - basically, it's just normal PC usage. Those listed also have a nice GUI, better than Windows with less lag. Though some might find Symphony OS a bit weird in terms of looks.
Live CD - allows you to boot to it, use it without ever installing it on a hard disk. Great for those who want to test Linux but not without formatting and partitioning your hard drive. Nearly all Linux distributions allow that.
Mini - As its name suggests, the file size of such distributions are very small. They can easily fit into your thumbdrive. One caveat is that they offer only the very basic stuffs. Of course there will be exceptions. Damn Small Linux and Puppy Linux are two of them. Small as their file sizes are, they are actually jam-packed with lots of goodies.
Do read the 3rd and 4th page, they will help you a lot in deciding what distributions to use. They can save you a lot of time downloading and troubleshooting.