Well, this problem is sort of solved. I now understand that Linux doesn't just have an equivelant to ".exe", and that some reconfiguration of my thinking will be required to wrap my head around it. I'm going to go out and hunt for Linux books soon, and hopefully get more of a feel for this sort of thing. As for Open Office Beta, it turns out that the problem in getting it started was that when I did the RPM install, I missed a subdirectory which had the RPMs for menu items and MIME integrations. So I uninstalled and reinstalled OpenOffice Beta, this time being careful to get all the right components lined up, and voila, I have OpenOffice Beta working like a charm. Menu icons and everything. Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions. As is always the case, I not only solved the problem, but learned a thing or two about some related issues along the way. Dave