Advice to newbie, please

[Rudi Borth <rborth@orc.ca>]

I am considering switching the operating system of my personal
computer to GNU/Linux, and I would appreciate some guidance regarding two
elementary questions: 

Q1: Would this make sense for a single user who is not a programmer?

My system has been made Y2K compliant with HOLMFIX, shows the date
correctly, and includes: CPU 80486, 25 MHz, RAM 8 MB, SuperVGA
colour monitor, MS-DOS v6.2, MS-WINDOWS v3.1 with WIN32S
v1.30.172, HD 164 MB, disk drives 3.5"/1.44 MB and 5.25"/1.2 MB,
modem Creatix 14.4, CD-ROM drive. -  WINDOWS and mouse disliked,
but used when found useful.

Friends call my system obsolete, but so far it has satisfied my
interests, which include Internet as a text and debating machine,
writing occasional small programs in C or BASIC or FORTH for my
personal use, and which don't include top speed of the year or
graphics although some web sites of interest cannot be usefully
accessed without them.

Q2: Would the switch to GNU/Linux require replacing applications
now running under DOS or WINDOWS? If yes, what might be recommended
replacements?  For, for example:

        CD-Rom readers
        XTreeGold v3.0
        Word processor SemWare Editor Junior
        Basic, C, C++, Forth
        Chess, FreeCell
        Internet software: Trumpet WinSock v3.0 Rev C, Opera v3.62,
            Eudora Light v1.5.4, WinTel v4.3.5, Telix for DOS v3.22,
            AtomClock, Integrity Master v4.21a
        HTMLed, RoPS, Acroread, MSWordViewer, WinJPG29

Any help (or reference where to get it) would be much appreciated. My two
questions don't seem to be answered in the FAQ texts.

Thank you.

Greetings!  Rudi Borth  <rborth@orc.ca>