Linux questions from a newb

[Kneel B4 Zod]

I have an old-ish laptop that is really crawling with a (fresh install of) XP home. 512 RAM, maybe a 1.2ghc celeron chip? I bought it about 5 years ago, and I don't want to put any more money into it (ie more RAM). I've already bought 2 new harddrives for it, and it wouldn't shock me id something major died soon.

that said, the thing crawls & is sluggish, and I am looking for faster web browsing/email/basic Office apps.

so, my questions are:

how much faster will my computer be with Linux?

are there any versions of Linux that are particularly easy to use for a newb to install/use?

should I anticipate lots of driver issues? IE with my wifi PCI card?

I would want to be able to duel boot. what's the best way to set this up?

tx