I've tried 4 Linux distros so far. Not installing them but just trying out the Live CD's for each of them. And I've had problems accessing my zip drive and my usb external drive. Although I have succeeded in accessing the contents of the drives using the console window, I've failed at accessing the drives using a desktop icon and a GUI, which is really what I want to be able to do if Linux is going to be a viable option. Where does Fedora fall in the area of "user friendliness". Is it an option for a beginner like me or is it more suited to people with more Linux experience? I think the book that I bought called The Linux Bible comes with Fedora Core 3. I don't think that is a Live CD though, I think it's an actual installation disc.

Is it an option for a beginner ...

It's an option for a determined beginner. I've dealt with way too many people who just couldn't deal with anything not authorized by Bill Gates to say that any beginner will be successful with Fedora or any other Linux distro.

Fedora is good for beginners in my own opinion, just don't expect it to be MS Windoze. There are lots of places to get support for Fedora as well and lots of howtos available on the web.

In KDE you can right click your desktop and create shortcuts for your devices.

Right click :

Create New --> Device --> [Lots of options here]

You just have to point the correct device (/dev/hda1 or /dev/sda1) or whatever. If you were successful in mounting your device in a console, this should be easy