I’m still trying to get Microsoft fonts installed on my system so you’ll need someone more knowledgeable about that than me...
Meanwhile, you might find the Knoppix Tutorial here helpful (http://www.eleli.de/knoppix/docs/tut...ish/index.html) and you might also want to look at the review here: (http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?res...review-knoppix). Currently I'm using Debian Sarge. Knoppix is based on Debian but is considerably easier to install. Mepis is also another excellent distribution, especially for newbies. You might want to check that out as well...
Wish I could be more help!