I think I am giving up for today. I have spent hours reading the links, and previous posts that I found in the search for OOo, supposedly installed Works Converter, which I can't find on here, just the installer, but when I open the installer it says it's already installed and all I can do is remove or repair the installation. Guess the only other thing I can do is go back to the old computer and try to convert the files there, then recopy them to this computer, but I'm done for today. Marie, thanks, but that only takes care of the one file, not all my patterns and such that have been typed in, or my trip journals, ect. Thanks for trying to help me. Tami

Open Office is Freeware, but is very large, the latest version 2.2.0 in 108 MegBytes, so one needs a high speed connection to get the download. One also needs little "web-wise" knowledge. While the download is free, I found it a bit difficult to make it happen, but did succeed. I have used OO for several years in an business environment in which MS Word, Excel, and Powerpoint were the standard tools, I was able with only minor problems to inter-work (create, edit) using OO. When using OO, always save in the Microsoft format, e.g., .doc and .ppt for Word and Powerpoint and whatever it is for Excel, and her/your colleagues can interact using MS at their end.

Microsoft's main market for Office is employers, public and private sector. The historical investment most places have made in things like forms, macro-driven apps, interfaces with other systems, etc., as well as what happens as new hires come in, make it much cheaper to continue with widely used MS software. Software license costs are small change compared to infrastructure and support expenses. For employers of any size, the fees paid for Office are a small fraction of the retail price an individual would face. For individuals, a free choice should serve most purposes. For a workplace other than very small, or an employee of a fair sized place who wants work compatibility in using a personal machine, MS is most frequently the choice.

I am an adult who was homeschooled almost fifty (egad!) years ago and I think that it would be best to have a separated area for the home school activities. I like the idea of French doors (maybe even Dutch style French doors - does that make them Flemish doors?? - so they could contain the dogs on the lower part but still be opened on top) to set the space apart visually and functionally, even if you leave them open a lot of the time. Although you presently use the room for FR-type activities you may find your kids take a more workman-like approach if the room function is dedicated more to schooling. I think I see a VCR/cable box so I was wondering if you also use the space for after-hours TV viewing. That would be a huge temptation, I think. One of the things that is important for homeschooling is to have some demarcation between your time spent supervising home school and your time spent strictly as a parent. Otherwise it can get very intense. So using spatial cues to reinforce the distinction may help. I know when we had a separate school room for home school it was better and when we homeschooled in the sitting room and dining room it was hard to not have one activity spill into the other. It was much better to have a designated school room where we settled down to work and could also leave things set up on desks and tables for the next session. I'd also vote for putting your desk in there, no matter how functional it looks. That will give you something to do when you kids are working and at the same time they can watch and model your approach to paperwork. Your kids' artwork and maps and posters and natural history specimens will make handsome and stimulating wall decorations. Plus, I'd add a big white board so you could use that space collaboratively to work on problems. Molly