Parents
 

Okay, my parents are not very tech savvy. They are getting their first computer with Internet access, etc. I am going with Ubuntu as their distro.

This will be a basic machine for Internet use, and Word processing, basic functions, etc.

I think Ubuntu will be a great choice, as I will be troubleshooting remotley if needed.

Just a little feed back on which distros are good for older people? Any ideas?

Hi,
The usual ones : Mandriva, FC4, SuSE, what you have chosen is okay. Older people (which I am) might
quite like Ubuntu. They also do prefer when there is someone to check and take care of their systems.

Good job to spread the use of virus-free operating systems !
cheers

Yes Ubuntu will be good. I am planning on installing that cause I am tired of get asked questions for an infinite number of times cause I am using Slackware. You can try to set up VNC, XDMCP or FreeNX to make the remote admin easier.

how is their eye sight? might also want to consider setting up KDE/Gnome with the handycap settings to alow for larger icons and larger default font settings to make it easier for them to read what is on the monitor.

yes agree, stick with FC or SuSe, Ubuntu if you are doing all of the work for them. One more house WITHOUT dependancy on Microsoft is good to hear.

Yeah, I didn't want to have to make a trip all the time just to run a virus scan, defrag, install software, spyware complaints, etc.

Ubuntu's a good enough choice, I prefer debian's apt-get over rpm based distros. Just check ssh settings before leaving their house and then ou can ssh into it if they have any problems

If you want to use something like VNC then tunnel it through ssh for security