Can I just remove the preloaded software and use it like a normal USB key?
Of course; it is just a normal USB key, there is nothing on it that you can’t just erase. Since there are 2 partitions on it, if you want to use it for just data you’ll probably want to repartition and make a new filesystem; there is nothing special in this procedure, but if you are unfamiliar with using GNU/Linux filesystem tools, see MembercardForData for step-by-step instructions.
