I can add:

1) Silly me: SoftMaker Office is software with separate trial and
full versions. I keep overlooking that. :-(

2) I have now upgraded that other computer to Ubuntu Studio 12.04
(32-bit).

Interesting:
I had burned that distribution image to disk, but mistakenly as a
file. So I had to reburn it to another DVD in order to boot from it.
I did so using US 10.04. The remarkable thing is, that I could
successfully do so using a blank disk of a brand that would be refused
by that same hardware under Windows.

3) Once again, I'm surprized by the swiftness (especially the quick
start-up) of Linux compared to Windows on the same hardware.
To be fair: I tend to install tons of programs, and I have not yet
done so under Ubuntu.
(On the other hand, my cheap and still /relatively/ clean Android 4.0
tablet feels much slower than my laden iPad.)