I found Open Office, which being a suite of office programs, like unto Microsoft's. only free. maybe, with dial up, you'd prefer to pay a little for the cr-rom. still... is smaller than Mircrosoft version (likewise file sizes are), is compatible with Mircrosoft files. the internet economy still baffles me, but apparently it can make some people rich, like those nice Google boys. and here's another alternative to Msoft.