Better yet, I have all of their software and Windows set up to just
automatically download and install updates at night, so all they do is
reboot each morning. That takes care of system updates, anti-virus,
etc.

For the Vista users, I even told them which sidebar gadget to use for
a big green restart button; no start menu action needed.

If they're interested in a new program, I download/install it first on
my test machine, *before* they do, and that has prevented many extras,
like toolbars and malware, because I could tell them step-by-step what
to click while installing, or tell them not to use it at all.

So then what is the difference in telling them step-by-step how to install
s/w under *any* OS ? Not having to worry about browse-by malware and trojan
installs is nearly worth the price of admission alone, especially since it
seems like some people are for some reason or another, it is drawn to them.

So far, Windows7 looks much better than Ubuntu, even without a
sidebar.

That's because Ubuntu uses the GNOME desktop. I'd recommend trying out the
Kubuntu distro, as the latest version of KDE is vastly superior to the
earlier versions. Looks can be changed too, easily in Linux, easier than
under Windows.