Wordpress.com blog flexibility

I'm pretty开发者_开发知识库 new to web design (but a very experienced programmer) and I'm creating a pretty simple wordpress blog for a friend. Take a look if you want: http://beachief.com/. Right now he has a domain mapped to a wordpress.com account, so I have no access to plugins or custom themes. This is what he wants me to add:

A like/dislike function for all posts

One section with 2 blog columns side by side (not supported by the theme - or any others that I could find)

The ability to let users log in and post their own content

My question is: is this stuff possible to do with a wordpress.com account? Or will he need to switch to an independently hosted wordpress.org site? Let me know what you think, thanks

Personally, I really like Wordpress. It's an incredibly flexible, stable, and strong CMS.

If you're really wanting the like/dislike functions, I found this: http://www.mrphpguru.com/blog/2011/01/14/like-dislike-post-plugins-for-wordpress/

But there are also some other great post rating alternatives here: http://www.geeksucks.com/showcases/10-cool-wordpress-plugins-for-ratings.htm

and for people logging in and posting their own content, you can manage users through the Wordpress backend (usually yoursite.com/wp-login or yoursite.com/wp-admin), and allow or deny specific permissions from them.

He will need to switch to Wordpress.org and be independantly hosted. Wordpress.com does not let you use plugins or custom themes, unless you pay for a VIP plan.