New Linux-Based PCs Encourage Seniors To Learn The Internet (redOrbit)

This would beyond anyone's common sense (except if one has had long exposition to computers, and has somehow become used to this annoyance).
You could configure the "power options" of the system, so that a single press on the power button just shuts down the computer ?

> What do other people do to set their grandparents up?
In the past, I have set up my parents with a commercial kiosk-version of Debian (in French)
www.ordissimo.com
I have mixed feelings about this user-friendly/'dumbed-down' solution; on the one hand, it allows the most common tasks (Internet, browsing photos ...) through a simple interface; on the other hand, it is so heavily constrained that one day or the other, it will get in the way. My case may be special, as I would have liked to remote-admin the computer (impossible to install new apps, a remote desktop etc); if you are standing next to the lady and have access to the hard-drive (mount it from an other system ... etc) you might be successful in doing what you want.

Now, I have just installed for them Linux Mint 7, and it serves them all right.

By the way, I have just discovered this for remote desktop, not tried it on Linux Mint yet, though:
http://www.spark-angels.com/