Home Server Help

[Tekster]

I have this spare box, about 2 years old that needs a new hard drive, and I was thinking about setting up a home server on it. Now I don't know much about this, but I am thinking about geting a big hard drive, install linux and see if it works.

My question is, can I set it up so I can access it from a Mac and a Windows machine? I have a PowerMac and a Windows laptop, and I use AirPort for my wireless connection.

Are there any advantages, disadvantages on having a server setup? Also what linux distribution is better for this?

I need all the help I can get, and I need specific answers since I have a general idea of how I would like it to work. Does any of this make any sense? Any ideas, suggestions and opinions are welcome.

Thanks in advance to all the tech gurus.