The latest release Debian 4.0r3 Etch (4.0 revision 3) was released on Feb 17. It contains a base system CD and 3 DVDs containing 18,000 free programs in 'Debian Packages' The programs in these packages can easily be installed and removed with the debian package manager. There are regular updates so packages can automatically be replaced with newer versions.
When I started, the whole idea of a new operating system seemed hard to fathom, but it occurred to me that when I started with windows, I was at least as blind. The idea of having a wide range of programs at my fingertips, with the ability to try them and remove them with no catches if they were not what I wanted, was enough to make me switch, and I've been amazed at what I have found, generally developed and tested by people who wanted to contribute to an improvement. Now I have the ability to control the core of my system, and it's great motivation to learn about how a program really works.