best upgrade for your old laptop:
Kingston v-series G2 SSD
Specs: SNV425-S2/64GB
its cheap: as low as $110 for the 64 gig (see canadacomputers.com)
best part and most important here is: built in garbage collection. meaning you don't need the TRIM command. this is great for winxp or linux.
full review about the drive can be found here: http://pcper.com/article.php?aid=872. With the important bit on the second last page http://pcper.com/article.php?aid=872&type=expert&pid=10.
i'm running one in my main system: Ubuntu 10.04 its only been there for a few weeks but so far no slow down. have a second sitting on my desk waiting to be installed in my mom's laptop (winxp)