A lot of people who buy touch-screen laptops find that they hardly ever use it as such (i.e. they use it simply as a conventional laptop). So yes, you can use any Windows 8 compatible programs with it.
The first thing I do when using any laptop (unless there's no convenient flat surface available) is to plug a mouse into it! I'm no great fan of trackpads.
>>>Im over 40 and tech has moved way beyond me
If "over 40" is 'past it' with regard to technology, what hope is there for people like me, who're over 60?