Final preperations before moving to Linux

Ok im finaly going to switch to using Linux as my Primary OS but before i do theres a few thing i need to know if i can carry on doing the same thing as i was on windiws.

Is there an IM service for linux that lets you talk with hotmail/msn contacts?

can counterstrike condition zero work on linux? can you play on windows servers or wil you have to download linux private servers or somthing?

How good are the media players on linux? can they play Real Media? what about music formats like ogg,m4a and other weird ones.

Is it possible to get some 3d games working with linux? i head somwhere that linux cant play the new 3d games but what about older games like unreal tournament?

if you can answer any or all of these questions it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance,

Luke

IM programs.. Of course. aMSN is a MSN messenger clone and Gaim is the all-round thing. Kopete comes with KDE and looks pretty good too.

Media players.. There is a Real player for Linux and the usual MPlayer/xine/VLC can play Real content to some extent. Ogg are open formats and I dare to say you have better support for these in Linux than in Windows. XMMS is the Winamp equivalent and it can do anything with plugins, including m4a support.

You can play older 3D games through Windows emulation and it won't be too slow if you have proper drivers and a powerful machine. For newer games, you need to get the native Linux version (if it exists) for a pleasant experience.

Is it possible to get some 3d games working with linux? i head somwhere that linux cant play the new 3d games but what about older games like unreal tournament?
TransGaming Technologies (http://www.transgaming.com/)

Check the TransGaming.Org Games Database (http://transgaming.org/gamesdb/) to see which games work and which don't (of course the list isn't complete).