Of course it is, it in the top ten here: "Fedora is perfect for many mainstream desktop/laptop users. Fedora handles graphics well and uses appealing interfaces. The recommended system requirements are 1GB memory and 10GB hard-drive. -http://www.linux.org/threads/which-distro-is-right-for-me.4834/
And there is no unified voice in Linux (except hate for Windows), while what i recommended was Lubuntu.
I admit I’m not intimately familiar with Lubuntu, but I will tell you that you neglected to mention Linux Mint which is one of the most user-friendly distros of Linux with which I’ve ever had the pleasure of working.
Sure i would recommend Linux Mint, which has the top spot, and its universal installer comes without the proprietary media codecs that are illegal on Linux in the US; (http://www.neowin.net/news/watching-dvds-on-linux-is-mostly-illegal). Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Fedora, Lubunto and OpenSuse also come without them by default.
But for a PC with little ram then he should go with a lighter variant of Ubuntu, which Libuntu is, though Xubuntu may be better.
you mentioned Windows 8 without noting that OP’s computer only has 684 MB of RAM.
True, though i also sent him to where he can get 2gb or ram cheap, while encouraging him to get a newer PC.
But he needs to know that this can take some time to learn (read the forums) and glitches in Linux on old PCs or laptops, in my experience.
I got the impression from OP that he was on a fixed income and not able to upgrade very easily. Also, with a system that old, he might have issues finding RAM, and his motherboard might not support more than a gig of RAM. Just because a DIMM fits doesn’t mean the system can use/support it.
Also, as far as “legality” in Linux for media codecs, I never claimed that Linux was ideal for use as a media center. That being said, there are PLENTY of publicly-available distributions of Linux with media center support using XBMC, for instance. It sounds like OP wants a machine that he can use for web browsing and email. Media was not mentioned unless I completely glanced over it.