OT: Questions about installing an SSD into my laptop

[Rick Bowers]

Hi all,

I'm looking to possibly replace my existing hard drive with an SSD 
drive. In spite of googling for information, I'm still confused 
regarding suitability. Folks on this list seem knowledgeable in these 
matters so I'm asking for some guidance here.

I have an HP G60-642NR laptop. It came with the following Hitachi drive:
http://reviews.cnet.com/internal-hard-drives/hitachi-travelstar-7k500-hts725032a9a364/4507-9998_7-33875493.html

I am considering this Samsung drive:
http://www.adorama.com/SSG7TD500BW.html?utm_term=Other&utm_medium=Shopping%20Site&utm_campaign=Other&utm_source=pgrabl

My basic questions are:
- Are these drives compatible? HP.Com gives me no guidance wrt 
upgrading the drive in my laptop
- Should I look at other drives? Which ones?
- Price in a big consideration -- is this price reasonable for a 
500GB drive (I've looked at Pricewatch.com and it seems to be in line.
- What other considerations should I evaluate?

I'm currently running Windows 7 but am looking to upgrade this to 
Windows 8 (or, possibly, linux -- I know the consensus of this group on that)

Thanks,

~Rick