Can you give some examples of where you find old free laptops? I rarely use a laptop, pretty much the only time is when on a trip and I want some entertainment in the hotel. And the laptop I have for that is "Windows Vista" era. So quite old. Still works running Linux (LinuxMint 17 - very old, but since I only use it once ever few years, I haven't gotten around to installing anything newer). I can do email, surf the web, establish a VPN and stream movies from my media server back home. It could be a little faster however, so your hints of potential free ones coming available is intriguing.

These days, I've found I tend to skip the laptop on trips, and use a tablet instead. And I take along a Roku that I hook into the hotel TV for movies. I don't stream them this way, because it is problematic to get an isolated Roku to successfully navigate the capture portal that hotels have. But my Roku supports a USB thumbdrive, which I preload with movies from my media server in advance.

None-the-less, a slightly better laptop, if free or dirt cheap, would be welcome!