Actually, linux isn't very good with the latest hardware, simply because a lot of hardware still has no drivers in linux, or cause they were not added to the distro yet and therefor the devices are not detected automaticly during the installation.
Installing linux is easy AS LONG AS everything works well. When something (eg. a card device) doesn't work than it may be easier to replace the device by something that is supported than to get your hands dirty by trying to compile a driver for the device. And sometimes the only advice you'll get is "write a driver!". Good luck.
A machine that is 2 to 6 years old is ideal for linux. Where in windows you haven't got a lot of choices, in linux there are many distributions. To replace windows you should seek for a "desktop linux". KDE may be nice. There's also Suse linux, Kanotix is looking good as well, and Unbuntu from Southafrica.
But basicly I have to say "parents who used Windows ME" usually cannot handle linux. Things like mounting drives etc. are usually bejond their horizon. Imagine you need to mount a floppy disk before you can accecss it, and the disk format may even be something other than the windows floppy format. There are still lots of little traps to step into.
I'd also say, try to get a cheap original win98se installation cd. On ebay you may find one for little money.
At the other hand, if they want to learn about linux, why not. (They surely will enjoy to tell about their cool linux skills to their friends)
Installing linux is easy AS LONG AS everything works well. When something (eg. a card device) doesn't work than it may be easier to replace the device by something that is supported than to get your hands dirty by trying to compile a driver for the device. And sometimes the only advice you'll get is "write a driver!". Good luck.
A machine that is 2 to 6 years old is ideal for linux. Where in windows you haven't got a lot of choices, in linux there are many distributions. To replace windows you should seek for a "desktop linux". KDE may be nice. There's also Suse linux, Kanotix is looking good as well, and Unbuntu from Southafrica.
But basicly I have to say "parents who used Windows ME" usually cannot handle linux. Things like mounting drives etc. are usually bejond their horizon. Imagine you need to mount a floppy disk before you can accecss it, and the disk format may even be something other than the windows floppy format. There are still lots of little traps to step into.
I'd also say, try to get a cheap original win98se installation cd. On ebay you may find one for little money.
At the other hand, if they want to learn about linux, why not. (They surely will enjoy to tell about their cool linux skills to their friends)