I now have a computer that I'm really satisfied with.  Although in all honesty it did take a bit of tweaking to get it running exactly right, as XP did not install properly, which meant that I had to spend half a day saving all our files and re-installing it.

Ubuntu is amazing!  It took me a couple of days to get used to it, and to set up the famous Ubuntu 'Cube Desktop'.  The cube is so good and such a brilliant concept that I had to video what I created within those first couple of days of installing Linux:

I also decided to get some slightly better speakers, opting for some Wharfedale 2.1 stereo.  The bass is really good, and as a result I always have music playing and discovered Last FM, amongst the Ubuntu downloads.

The computer now does everything that I want it to, it also does it far better than I imagined possible.  I did spend slightly more than I intended, spending just short of £300, when my budget was £250.  However I think that the extra was well spent, and I have a far better computer for my money than I could have brought off the shelf.  Of course it has taken a lot of time, but I now know a lot more about computers and computing than I ever did before, and I am confident that I could take on other similar (if not bigger projects) in the future.  

The downside is that I've really caught the computing bug.  I would love to get a graphics card for this computer, and a bigger monitor to show off the Ubuntu Desktop.  I would also like to get an old cheap laptop onto which to install Ubuntu, so as to have a portable machine (so that I can play anywhere!)  I have really got into Open Source software and it's capabilities.  I am already in the process of putting together a package to enable anyone with basic computer knowledge to build and put their own unique website onto the internet for little or no cost!

It is worthwhile pointing out that I upgraded to Ubuntu 8.10 on it's release.  I did find one or two bugs in the new package, however I was able to sort them out quite easily by referring to the Ubuntu support forums.  For a 'hassle-free' introduction I would recommend starting with the LTS (Long Term Support) release (v8.04) which I found to be almost faultless.

In Summary:

This is what makes my computer work...

Processor:                AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+
Motherboard:           Gigabyte GA-MA69VM-S2
Hard Drive:               Western Digital WD2500AAKS Caviar SE 250GB 7200RPM SATAII/300 16MB Cache
RAM:                          Kingston 2GB
Processor Cooler:    Coolermaster Hyper TX2
Operating System:   Ubuntu 8.10 (which I updated from 8.04)  and Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition-SP3 (Dual Boot)
Card Reader:           Hiyatek Black 20-in-1 Multifunction Card Reader With Fan Controllers 2x USB E-SATA
Speakers:                Wharfedale S21196A