> but a stable linux distribution, with a low technical entry barrier might. Also known as pretty much any consumer Linux distro preinstalled on a computer. I

> but a stable linux distribution, with a low technical entry barrier might. Also known as pretty much any consumer Linux distro preinstalled on a computer. I have clients who have had Ubuntu running flawlessly for over five years. Whenever a new LTS comes around it gives a popup notification and shows up in the software options to upgrade, and they do so whenever they get around to it. They have five years of security updates coming in automatically anyway, no reason to worry about that. If you do not want to get into the guts, you do not have to, unless you start out there by trying to install an OS by hand. And even in that use case, assuming you properly research your hardware support, Linux is a much more friendly experience to install and get running than buying a Windows CD and trying to install it, and then get the system into a usable state. The answer is not complicated - preinstalls. Machines running Linux, probably Ubuntu, in stores, in front of your grandmother. If she buys it (and even Unity is much easier to understand than The Windows 8 Start Menu) then she should expect it to work out of the box fine forever, updating itself in the background, with the default programs providing 99% of her needs. And that is what happens now assuming you buy from a Linux boutique like System76, Zareason, Thinkpenguin, or the redistributors of Dells / HP notebooks or Llenovo stuff in Germany and other countries that mandate an OS choice option.