Open-office.org will get you around the Office files problem.
There's dozens of ways to get your files out of iTunes.
Pictures are a snap.
What format are your research projects? Oh, wait, it doesn't matter (see sentence #1).
What is Note-One?
If you take out your hard drive and put it in an external case for $14.99 or whatever, you could probably experiment as it is.
That said, linux is not for everyone. But if you're technically savvy at all, it's worth trying. You can create one of those non-destructive bootable DVD's and try it. And just think -- the bootable version runs from memory, a true install will be faster.