I set up my father with XandrOS Linux 3.0. Gotta say it is the Least Ammount Of Bullshit Linux I've ever seen. Pop in the CD, install it (flawlessly supports Dual-Booting), and it works. Everything is installed, but not EVERYTHING, so you just get the tools which get the job done.

It picked up my nVidia card without any configuration, I plugged in my Card reader and it worked flawlessly, and setting up things like services was dead easy. It's a Linux designed for the End User. Not once did I ever have to look at a Terminal, since XandrOS would often fix its own mistakes.

I suggest you try it. Just download the Deluxe version somewhere or shell out the $50 for the Dual-CD and documentation set, which includes CrossOver Office 4.0 Pro, and all of the proprietary plugins. It played all the media formats I threw at it without any trouble. Even me, a two-year long Linux user and sysadmin, was impressed with it. And my father, a long-time tech-illiterate, actually proclaimed, "I prefer Linux over Windows."