I have had a gutful of Windows. PC running slow, bloated, anti spyware crap needed, constant updating, defraging, and paying for the privilege. 3 months ago I decided to load Linux Mint 17 on my old laptop and it runs really good. No more problems, crashes or slow responses, and it is free.
If all you are after is internet, email and some word processing, then Linux is the go. Linux Mint is more user friendly than other variants for people used to Windows.