Linux for new users?
This is just my 2 cents, but here goes nothing.
First of all, Linux itsn't as hard to use as it used to be, but sometimes making some hardware work can be difficult if you don't know what you're doing. I've been using Linux for about 6 years now, and I find it easier to use than XP.
Asking which distro is easier to use isn't a very meaningful question. That all depends on your skill level, your hardware and what you plan on using your computer for. I started out using Mandrake (now Mandriva) and I think it was a good distro for me to start with. I've since used Slackware, Ubuntu, Vector, Fedora Core and SuSe. Honestly, the differences between them aren't that big. They use different installers and package managers, and some of the programs that are installed are different, but really they're all Linux. You can use KDE or Gnome on any of them, you can compile your own software in the same way, and most of the available programs are exactly the same. Sometimes different distros use slightly different versions. The only way for you to know which is good for you is to try a few. Make your /home partition separate on your first install, and you can usually get away with reusing it (without losing data due to formatting) on your next try. If anything, your /home might get a little cluttered. I suggest checking out
http://distrowatch.com for reviews and a general overview. If you stick to one of the more popular ones, you probably won't have much trouble.
I would personally recommend Ubuntu instead of SuSe, because it is currently popular and getting a lot of mindshare. I am against SuSe because of their current involvement with Microsoft (google "suse microsoft" to read about it).
If you try a distro and something doesn't "just work", don't give up on it right away. A carefully worded google search will often turn up the exact information that you're looking for, because chances are you aren't the first person to experience a problem. I hope you're experiences with Linux are as good as mine have been.