> Now the question. Is it worth my while to download Open Office and
> install it. Does Open Office have enough file conversion options to
> take care of this file format bullshit? Does Open Office do a good
> enough job, so if I send a document that looks like a Word document
> with a DOC extension, their Word program will reproduce it correctly?
Yes.
> Or, is it just much more simple to get the organization to make a free
> copy of MS Office available, and I work in that environment instead?
> (While I puke at its dysfunctionality...)
That would probably be simpler. You have Emacs and LaTeX for your own work, so you're decades ahead of the rest as far as typesetting goes. Won't kill you to slum it with the rest of them once in a while.
> My nighmare vision for NCLB and its clones. High school students are
> taught that proficiency in Excel is mathematical competence.
Fear not, Excel won't be on the standardized test.
-- In Solidarity, Billy O'Connor