"an easy way for non-IT types to get it up and running" and that is the issue. There simply isn't a Linux version out there that is easy for non-IT types to get up and running. Let alone use.
Perhaps a distro could get a bank of people in their twilight years with little experience of PC use and get them to do a few of the things they would need to do (plug in a new printer, connect to wifi, configure an email client to send) some things that are fairly easy on a windows pc (compare configuring windows mail to configuring thunderbird).
Biting the hand that feeds IT
