Pre installation check points help

[abhishek bhattacharya <bhattacharya.abhishek@gmail.com>]

Dear Team,



I am going to install Debian OS on my Samsung series 3 laptop, The
configuration is given below:

AMD A4 processor

Radeon Graphics card

Atheros AR 9485 WiFi card

Now, I have installed Ubuntu, and I could only do it by selecting
‘nomodeset’ in the installation start-up!

Will there be any choice like that while installing Debian?

If so, What steps to follow?

 Also, does Debian support the following softwares:

Xfce or Gnome
Cairo Dock
Conky



Your guide will be much appreciated, as I am no Linux geek!
Also I am downloading"  debian-live-7.0.0-amd64-gnome-desktop.iso ",
from the web page:
http://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current-live/amd64/iso-hybrid/

is that the right iso for me?

Thanks and Regards,
Bhatta