Could I ask then why you bought Norton? I've installed avast on my mother's machine and haven't heard from her since, and it was free.
Also, as much as I hate the phrase "buy a mac", I'm convinced that all non-tech users should be using one of these machines.
He was ranting about Apple even though he didn't use any of their services or products? And I'm quite sure doing so would've saved him a lot of time and trouble.
I use Windows as well as OS X, and, knowing both sides, OS X is just so much more comfortable to use. Especially for people without previous knowledge, such as my mom or my sister. I did install OS X on my sister's Eee PC a while back and it runs great, she's never had any trouble with it. I'm confident it would've worked with his mother too. (Though buying a MacBook is much less trouble than hacking OS X on any other system)
Norton was probably the worst choice on my part, and it came from habit. I've used Norton for a long time, and it has a good reputation. But you're right: there are much better options for security software.
I gave my mom a Macbook 5 years ago and she's never had to ask anyone for support.
How old was your mom when you got it for her? Did she have previous computer experience?
So we're starting completely from zero.