Replacing my laptop, and planning to give current laptop to my 85 yr old mother so she can email and chat with me, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren, and receive photo's. Is ubuntu a viable OS for her? Here is what I want to do:
It's a 5 year old Gateway Laptop with 1.6 ghz AMD Turion64 processor; 1gb ram, and existing 80 gb hard drive that I plan on removing and replacing with a 20gb hd from an even older laptop. Both hard drives work, and I see me needing the 80gb for backup more than she needs it for space. The CD/DVD drive does not work, and I'm not replacing it. Everything else works fine.

Mom isn't particularly bright, and is easily confused. I see Windows being more difficult for her to work with than Linux. She has never used a home computer, in fact has refused to try. I thought maybe receiving a free one might interest her, as well as the prospect of having more contact with geographically distant family. Internet connection will be DSL. I live thousands of miles away, but my son lives near her and is geeky enough to handle any problems that arise.

I would like to know if this sounds appropriate and viable, or should I re-think either the OS (or the whole idea). I welcome suggestions from anyone who has experience in setting up a computer for an elderly person and has suggestions or cautions. What release of Ubuntu (or Linux in general) should I install? Is this a crazy idea?

Thanks for any and all input.