Yep ...took an old laptop that was used very little so physical condition was perfect almost. Upgraded it with more memory, a SSD and Ubuntu and its a perfect surfer of the net....
Free Linux is all the old laptop needed yet.... Upgraded it as best I could for a friends daughter to use for school. Open office, GIMP etc was free as well as a plethora of other software that was compatible with most Microsoft products.
Linux is good stuff ...
My oldest managed to get Ubuntu Linux installed on a Net-Book. ALL he had to ask me for was the passphrase for WPA on our wireless access point. If he can do it, ANYBODY can do it. :-)