> but giving Linux to an elderly person also feels somehow wrong. There's nothing wrong with giving Linux to an elderly person. Provided that elderly person i

> but giving Linux to an elderly person also feels somehow wrong. There's nothing wrong with giving Linux to an elderly person. Provided that elderly person is willing to learn and adjust. But if they have simply memorized the 'pictures' they see in W7 (you mention "and they want Windows (7)") without abstracting away from the picture and learning the underlying meaning of "what" they are asking the machine to do when they manipulate that particular area of pixels, then giving them anything but W7 is going to cause nothing but trouble. The reason is that only W7 is going to look and act exactly like W7, and if any deviation from that causes them grief, then you will have to decide how much grief is too much. The one advantage you have with a Linux is that there is no monetary investment to install it on something (provided you have a spare something) to use to show them to gauge their reaction and willingness to learn something different. But the real key is going to be what @zzo38computer mentioned. Just exactly what software do they use. If it is all web based, and will run in Firefox on Linux just fine, then you have a greater chance of success. But if something they use wants MSWin only, you'll have a much harder time moving them to Linux.