Program is called
WINE.
And 99% of the time there is a open source program that will read/write do anything to MS files you want. And 99% of the time the programs are better. (IMO I guess)
If your considering a Eee, the "easy mode" desktop is super super simple. They have a factory restore setting, so if you mess up anything you hold down [F2] while booting, make you selection, and literally like 15seconds later you have you fully restored Eee back to factory settings.
But Linux can be tricky in some spots, I admit. Just depends I guess on what your doing. But with what you described (email, office apps, etc) they are extremely capable, and easy to use.
I've had my first gen Eee for a good time now, and my biggest complaint is probably the keyboard. BUT, the new ones are larger, and much easier to type on IMO. But ours had been running like a champ. And while the main rig was down a couple months back I hooked up my 20" LCD, Razor mouse, and gaming keyboard and it actually was pretty nifty. Didn't have to do anything but plug them in and go.
Good luck though in your search.
