Bringing this to an update:
During Covid I got two old laptops and put Linux Mint on them along with Zoom and Teams, then I took them to a shelter for the women to use to securely and remotely contact doctors, lawyers, counselors, therapists, whatever, whoever, during the 'Great Quarantine'. "That's not Microsoft". None of the staff or clients wanted to even sit down to look them over.
Years earlier my wife and I were members of a blind association. I picked up a handful of PCs, mostly towers. I installed what was then an up and coming Linux distro called Vinux - Linux for the visually impaired. I sent them to members around Pennsylvania to try with the intentions of giving them to people who didn't fully qualify for disability aid and couldn't afford the $1000+ fee for Job Access for Windows (JAWs), the screenreader program most commonly used on Microsoft. Vinux came with free Orca and other free screenreaders. Again the only real complaint was "That's not Microsoft". Vinux disappeared for several reasons.
So, failure on two attempts. On the other hand, my wife has a cousin who is a retired teacher's aid. Her SSI barely keeps her head above water. She got a laptop from another relative several years ago and that version of Microsoft expired. She was in a dilemma - what to do? She had managed to gain contacts with quite a few friends and relatives and loved being able to video chat, email and facebook with them. Let's see what I can do ... I put Linux Mint on, put her pictures and a small handful of saved emails and other documents back and with just a bit of hand-holding getting her accounts set up she was up and running and loving it!
Another relative, son's mother-in-law had a laptop that Microsoft expired on. She too just used it for facebook, emailing and video conferencing with friends and relatives. She didn't want to buy a new laptop but she didn't want to lose her contacts. Linux Mint to the rescue again. Then she got the Linux game bug and installed and played games from the software manager. She could do some of the same on her phone, but the laptop screen is so much bigger and better.
A friend, who at the time was an auctioneer, got fed up having to take his PCs to a shop and pay through the nose to have viruses and other malware fixed. He shared documents with banks, clients, lawyers and area court houses. The lawyers were the worst! Makes me wonder how they can maintain trust with other business establishments! We got to talking one evening at a church meeting and I mentioned Linux Mint. He got beyond interested! Next time I brought my laptop and we sat down and went over everything on it. "Can you set me up?" Whoa! I'd never even thought of setting up a small business office before. "I don't know, but I can try." I flabbergasted myself and got it up and running with dual-boot, just in case. He was fit to be tied and everything went great until he got a brand-spanking new big production office printer. He couldn't get it to connect through wireless, only hardwired and that didn't cut it for his little office. I got the brand and model info and got a hold of the manufacturer. They had just the day before released a driver that should work. I downloaded it and took it to the office. It worked and he had the printer up in no time. He's since retired and passed away. After he retired he kept Linux on his home PCs. He'd had his fill of Microsoft.
Bottom line: Linux works for those who want it to work. It's like rehab, you can force it or just offer it, but if they don't want it, it won't work for them.
What can you do with old PCs? Keep one for a spare that you can install Linux on and set up your accounts and backups. Turn one into a media center with pictures, music, videos and links to online media then hook it up a speaker system, one room or whole house. You can even hook up to a TV for better video size and quality. Turn one into a security system for your home, barn, garage, shop, or business. And if there's someone who really-really wants to use Linux, pass it on.
Last but not least, there are a small handful of organizations that accept old, working PCs, load Linux on them and offer them to volunteer groups such as ambulance and fire services, small charities, community groups, churches and missions. Pittsburgh, PA. has one called ComputerReach. Houston, TX. has one - I can't remember the name of, and there are several more around the country.
