Indeed, people miss the point with the "it's free" argument because there is an opportunity cost with the switching and more importantly to users like me, it's not about cost it's about value and currently linux doesn't represent value to me. The situation in which it currently does is on my EEE where I want to do basic word-processing on the go.
For people like your parents, the cost and value relationships are different and it's certainly worth them swapping or at least trying linux.
As for the programs:
Dragon naturally speaking - this is voice speech recognition program, I use it extensively for writing the first draft of documents. I just talk and talk and talk and then go back later for clean-up with the keyboard.
Atlas ti Program for researchers - allows me to look at transcripts and other text and do analysis by linking concepts and words
Endnote This is a reference management database - it intergrates with Word and allows me to keep a track of references and insert them in documents
Nokia PC Suite Let's my phone talk to my PC - used to update my diary and my phonebook - I currently have a nokia e61 ( http://europe.nokia.com/A4142101 ) but from monday will have a windows mobile device so will be even more tied into MS.
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