I don't use any proprietary software and I use Linux. I started my computer career back in the days of Atari and Commodore Vic, when someone who shall remain nameless here, said: "you'll never need more than 64k!" But I do understand the frustration of learning something new that is a bit over your head. My husband was much the same as you: "throw them into the deep end" philosophy. He too was a patient teacher though. I was not always a patient student! LOL