> In the end, complaints about Linux boils down to "i can't apply Windows (or Mac) rote gestures on this".
Would that it were so simple.
Unfortunately, there is also "I can't comfortably use my printer/scanner on this". Some manufacturers still don't provide Linux drivers for their devices.
My mother uses Linux too, quite happy with it, but I had to buy her a new printer.
EDIT: a thing I might add here is that I think that for the older generation, a pre-configured Linux desktop can give them that Win95-98-XP experience they want. Familiarity, as you said, is a key factor, and the Metro UI can be much more difficult to get used to for people that put a lot of effort in getting familiar with the 95-XP UI paradigm they used for the last 20 years.
Some, but not all. Also a new Printer/Scanner that is supported by Linux is a lot cheaper than a new computer to run Windows 10 (and will always work with Linux, unlike a printer/scanner that "currently" works on Windows). I use Windows and Linux at home but I've moved my Mum to Ubuntu as I had less worries about her getting taken over with Malware or RansomWare. Only issue we've had is the photo management isn't as smooth but she's used to it now.
Instead they grab the neighborhood geek (or should i say nerd, geeks seems to be too cloud oriented these days) and pay with cookies or beer (depending on age of said geek).
What seems to be going on is a mixed message of "hard to admin" and "don't need to admin" (aka "just works" in Mac speak). Meaning that it is rarely if ever about day to day "usage", but rather about being able to admin their own system.
And frankly i think Linux have a leg up there, as things are actually documented and in plain sight (at least until Freedesktop stuff and, their fetish for using dbus for everything, gets their panties in a twist). With Windows and Mac is it all too often some closed up blob going bad, involving magic incantations found in some forum or blob somewhere.