Thanks, Tom. Looks like Cocktail (as available from the VersionTracker site, very highly rated there) requires OS X Version 10.2 or higher, so for now that leaves me out, which is probably right where I should be.
At the moment, I'm not having any problems with navigating the site. (Well, I am, but today it's AOL's fault. Fortunately I can connect without using AOL, but it's not as convenient and it means that today's not the right day to start downloading and installing things.) I'm a little leery of upgrading (or, sometimes, even updating), for fear of introducing new bug variables.
Haven't yet tried everything here that I intend to, so will report back. It's frustrating not to be able to offer a "fix" for everything raised here, but at the very least, we've answered the initial question. There is no systemic OSX/SOG incompatibility.
For the benefit of all here, make friends with
MacFixit Forums.