> Put your non-programmer relative in front of each, have them do some common simple tasks, like print an email on their printer, and ask them.
My grandma does this all the time from her Linux laptop. My grandpa needed help getting it to work the first time under Windows.
This sounds disingenuous. How does your grandma fare on Windows? Can your grandpa even navigate Linux? For all I know, your grandma could be a HN user and your grandpa a plumber.