The video is obviously edited (around 46 min), why is that ? Did they run out of tape/memory in the middle ?

Hi, I have "transitioned" my own family, in-law, and a few friends to GNU-Linux, including complete Noob. I had the best results with Ubuntu LTS, it's really an important point to stick with LTS, and Mandriva (be careful to stick with official repository, no "testing" or "backport", it would be nonsense for Noob).
As for Kubuntu, it used to be borderline crappy, but since 9.10 it's getting in good shape and it's now up to Ubuntu standards, I have good feelings for the coming LTS "Lucid Lynx" if the transition can wait until then.

Don't try to make it "windows-like", you will lose your time in stupid customisation, it will break on upgrades, and the user will always be looking back with the feeling that "it ain't the same". Linux is NOT Windows, that's why it's so much better, just go with it and don't try to sell it as a Windows placebo.

Other good choices are OpenSuse (I avoid it for "ethical" reasons, not technical ones), Debian Stable (but will take longer to configure to your needs). Lesser known distro are often to avoid for new users (less assistance, on-line resources, fewer packages...), one exception I used is Mepis.

f-spot like it's friend tomboy drags tons of "mono" packages, which is of no interest to users and free software in general, maybe scraping this would help saving space for The Gimp ? Besides, f-spot sucks, it's nowhere near Digikam that ships with KDE, and it's not playing in The Gimp category. Most Ubuntu users I know use (non-free) Picasa® or Digikam together with The Gimp.

Well, looks like Ubuntustudio http://ubuntustudio.org/ really serves a purpose...

Or maybe Ubuntu should just ship with "Applications" menu icons that just trigger the "Ubuntu software center" on the corresponding software when clicked, this way the .iso stays light, but user still get a chance to discover the very nice program that The Gimp is.

Hi, just to share my experience, my son has been using my desktop computer since is two, before any of the super parents around start shooting i'll say he is doing so under my supervision (and on my knees), and only for about 20mn a day (it was only a few minutes in the beginning). I'm using Debian so he is using Tuxpaint, Gcompris and Childplay mainly. But what he likes most is typing my password ! Thanks to this he is now able to write a few words on the keyboard, including is name, in both lower and upper cases, and he's playing a few of the excellent games the aforementioned educative suites offer. Since he's growing in a multilingual family we have established to do some activities in French, and some in English, and it's going fine. He is now able to use the mouse without me holding is hand, I have just reduced the acceleration factor of the cursor. Yes he is playing with "classic" toys too, he can draw with a pen and a piece of paper and so on, I see no reason to be afraid of computers with kids outside of the usual security issues (ie. electricity, small parts...). On top of my desktop he is also enjoying very much a Macbook laptop running Ubuntu, those are more children friendly in size, the keys won't come out since the keyboard is well integrated in the machine (you have to check one to understand), and he had no trouble at all using the touchpad, which I doubled with a small mouse. As long as it is done under close supervision and for a limited amount of time I can see no reason not to use this wonderful learning tool, and no two and a half isn't too early, just make sure the child really has an interest in it and not only you. Cheers.