Desktop Linux is a niche product. It appeals to two crowds: software developers (specially software that runs on Unix-like servers) and their parents (because said software developers don't like to disinfect Windows computers during their visits).
I also very much dislike Windows 8's direction, and this could be Linux's big break in trying to capture as much market share as possible from Windows, but they need to beat the iron while it's hot, and not let the opportunity escape them.
Yes! 2012 will be the year of Linux on the desktop!
Idiot.
I don't think this type of commentary belongs here.
It's also much more useful as a teaching tool. Instead of whatever the problem was being silently fixed behind the scenes... then cropping right back up again because it's caused by user error, your client can follow along and actually learn something.
That's my favourite thing about ARD. I can curtain a machine if I don't want questions or interruption, and I can reveal it if I want to teach something.
It's much cheaper to give your parents your old PC or laptop with an updated distro (say, Ubuntu) and forget about viruses, etc. They usually get most of their needs from the web (eg. webmail, facebook, etc.) and you can SSH in the event they actually need to install anything.
If you are a developer, it's very likely your old PC or laptop will be good enough for their needs.