Shoutbox

I've used Linux on and off for the last four years, and would recommend that, instead of getting a distro direct from the Internet, find a book on something like Ubuntu (which can be encouraged to work on a laptop) or a similar novice-aimed distro. The bonus of having a book is it'll guide you through the installation, configuration, use and maintenance of the distro you choose. If it's a good book, it'll even have a guide to getting it running with a laptop

Edit: I do believe there are books on SuSE