I'm also disabled. I too play games to pass time. What I do is
dual boot. When I turn on my computer it's set to give me a menu that
let's me pick between Ubuntu and Windows. I use Windows for the games
and Ubuntu for getting anything "real" done, in other words, for
everything else. As far as games in Linux it depends on the types of
games you like to play. I like all sorts of things. I'm addicted to
solitaire but I also love the 3D games, especially the FPS's (first
person shooters). More and more 3D games are either being made for
Linux and more and more of the games made for windows are being made
to run on Linux. It's slow going though. As far as the network card I
really can't say. I'm sure some of the more knowledgeable people who
frequent this group can.