There are some admirable intentions here, but most of the older people I know that this would theoretically serve best are infinitely better served by a light tablet. I want my grandma checking her e-mail and doing her reading in the most comfortable environment/seat in the house; I suspect this will lead to a lot greater usage/engagement. And portability means it's easier to ask for help.
Tablets, like mobiles generally sufferer from planned obsolescence. They are not meant to be used and receive updates for years and years, like people used XP.
I want my grandma to not have to relearn to yet another UI every two years. Canonical has commited to support the LTS releases for half a decade, which, while not coparable to XP, is for older folks still a better bet than anything the mobile world has to offer.
> Tablets, like mobiles generally sufferer from planned obsolescence.
> I want my grandma to not have to relearn to yet another UI every two years.
Those two statements have little to do with each other. The current (and upcoming) version of iOS still works largely the same way as iPhone OS did 6 years a go.
Modern mobile OSes are easier to learn than desktop OSes and are less encumbered by malware. For someone who has never used a desktop computer or the Internet, starting off with a good tablet instead of a personal computer is a better choice.
As I understand it, XP wasn't meant to do that either; the fact that it lasted so long was more of a series of mistakes on Microsoft's part in getting a replacement out the door. I'm happy to be corrected, though.
You're not wrong, but continue your thought process and think bigger picture.
If you do actual research on older computer users, you'll see that many prefer a desktop environment for the sole reason that they can get a monster monitor.
"But my Grandma!" you might say, and you might be right.
But expand your dataset and you'll start to understand why desktops and iMacs haven't become obsolete.
