Yep, I use Open Office on a Windows Laptop.
There are no problems really. You can come across a little bit of incompatibility (dodgy formatting) with some MS Office files, but it is only sometimes, the majority of them work perfectly.
If you are not using it for anything fancy with the custom programming that MS Office does, then it will do a great job.
I have a 'proper' bought and paid for copy of Office 2000 and use Open Office in preference to it.
Installation is simple, their web site looks a bit Geeky, but they soon realised that not everyone knows how to, or even would want to compile their own source. It will install just like an ordinary Windows programme. Now, if you go for the Linux version, that is a different matter
Actually, for a Linux programme, it also installs pretty simply, but not as simply as the 'Click and Go' Windows version.
Go for it - It's not Beta, It's genuinely free, It works good and you can always uninstall it if you don't like it.
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