| You could install Linux, then give them Libre
| Office and Firefox. The problem there, though,
| is that they won't be able to do much else with
| it. And Linux support is terrible because there's
| constant version churn.
|
| Once I had the Linux machines setup, I did not bother with updates or
| new versions. Everything was fine.
|

I guess it depends on what one does with it. I
could imagine a scenario where I want to install
new software or updates down the road. Since Linux
is always a work in progress, no one cares about
backward compatibility. So one updates program XYZ
from v. 1.24.213 to v. 1.24.414 and it needs a dozen
libraries replaced, because, for instance, libABC
v. 2.463.654.22 is no longer good enough. The new
program version was compiled with a dependency on
libABC v. 2.463.654.24. At some point those kinds of
dependencies will conflict with the Linux version.

It can be made easier by just allowing the software
to go out and update itself, but then one ends up
back in the same boat as with Windows: The whole
idea of switching is to protect privacy and control
of the system, yet now Linux wants to be allowed
to go online and update things willy nilly.

I don't see any reason why I should enable
anything through the firewall that I didn't initiate.
The software is supposed to be doing what I tell
it to do.... Which brings up another issue: Last
I checked, there was no firewall available for Linux
that provided outgoing block by process. The excuse
offered by Linux fans was that Linux isn't creepy
like Windows so you don't need outgoing block!
Even if that were true, blocking outgoing is a good
way to help avoid malware. And I see no reason
to just trust not only the Linux distribution but also
every other process that runs on a Linux box.
Trustworthy means it doesn't ask or try to go
online.

Backward compatibility has always been one of
the best aspects of Windows. Software can easily
be written today that runs on Win95 to Win10. It's
even easier to write software that runs on Win2000
to Win10. Microsoft almost never breaks any
documented API function, so if it worked on Win95
it can be depended on to work on Win10.