"I've tried the OpenOffice substitute but my computer didn't like it at all."
What was the problem? I've got OO running on a whole variety of Windows, BSD, Mac and Linux computers without any hassle.
OO Calc (Excel equivalent) works fine but, as Llademos notes, it may have problems with complex Excel macros.
Abiword -
http://www.abisource.com/ -is an excellent free alternative to MS Word or OO Writer - all the features and much faster - it can also save in .doc format for the MS serfs....
