Also I might get a used hard drive on Ebay to experiment with Linux. Is 10gb good enough for a typical full bells and whistles install? Maybe 20gb is better 'cause then I can experiment with a windows 2000 or XP dual boot
10g should be plenty for a standalone Linux install, I would think. Or, you can just add that 10g to a computer that already has a hard drive and keep your Linux and Windows on separate physical drives.
10g hard drives are super cheap on eBay.