Thanks for the reply SRS. You may have missed what I'm suggesting though - the live CD to see if it looks as if it might be promising and user friendly enough for them.

I think my biggest "thing" I have with Linux these days gets less and less from usability in terms of needing knowledge but I don't find programs start up as quick on older machines when graphical desktops (needed unless you are a "nerd"!) like KDE, Gnome are involved. Oddly enough, in that sort of area, I do like Win2K pro - seems lighter weight and more reliable than 98 or 95 but doesn't (as I've heard reported - not really used it) require what I've seen said about some XP setups - ie. great providing you have....