(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
I appreciate your suggestions; I will download openoffice ASAP and start the transition.
I doubt I will be able to line up another computer where I am right now, however, so Linux may have to wait until that arrives, given the suggestion that partitioning might not be so hot an idea. I'm comfortable with it. But I don't really want to make waves with the wife on the computer (it's a replacement for a crashed HP--did I mention HP sucks?). She's been without reliable stateside communication for a little while and is only now getting re-used to having an internet connection again full-time, and dealing with partitioning would rock her world, I think.