Best overall machine - Linux ready?

[bastet@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Hi everyone, 
A quick question.  What would you recommend for the best overall 
machine for a company to buy, that wouldn't have any hardware 
conflicts with linux?  Do you know of any companies that 
specialize in such a machine?  Dell?  Gateway?  Being a complete 
novice in Linux, though interested in having a low-cost server for a 
computer lab LAN, I want to start out without any little things like 
that causing trouble.

I wrote the list awhile back about the non-profit organization I work 
for setting up a computer lab for Seniors in the Kalamazoo area.  
What I've proposed to the director is the server running Linux, 
though all the other machines would need to run Win98, as the 
Seniors will be working toward things like Microsoft Certifications.  I 
know you're probably all groaning but it is delicious irony, don't you 
think?  Teaching people so they can pass Microsoft's little tests on 
a system thats backbone is Linux? :)

I need to hunt through my mail from those of you who responded 
with offers to help with this project.  We will need someone who 
knows Linux inside and out to do it... and at this point that isn't 
me.  The organization is Green Thumb, Inc.  We help people 55 
years and older to get job training and work experience and then 
jobs in the private sector (they work in community service 20 hrs 
per week while learning).  If anyone is interested, please e-mail me.

The basic questions here are, though, what's the best machine to 
get for running Linux?  And would Linux do a good job being the 
server for a LAN of computers that run Win98?

Krista Landon