The proprietary format

Have you used Microsoft products like Word, Excel, Powerpoint etc ? If so, are you using them since a few years ? Then you know that your older MS Office 2003 can't open files from the latest MS Office 2007. The older files used to be saved as .ppt , .doc or .xls files by default. And when you open those files in Office 2007, [COMPATIBILITY MODE] is written on the top. WHY ?
More importantly, when you tried to open your new Office files in Office 2003, it can't do that. Period.

That is it. Unless you have the latest version of Office, you can't view those files. Of course, for some users, it is just a matter of saving it as 'office 2003' file in Office 2007. But still, the [COMPATIBILITY MODE] sign will be there. Why is MS introducing a new format every once in a few years ? Surely all those minor changes could be incorporated with the older format as well. But then people won't think " Oh ! maybe it is time for the new software to be bought."

Even if you are using a pirated copy of microsoft software, because it is free, Bill Gates has something for you.

"About 3 million computers get sold every year in China, but people don't pay for the software. Someday they will, though. As long as they are going to steal it [sic], we want them to steal ours. They'll get sort of addicted, and then we'll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade."

Bill Gates, 1998 interview

Microsoft works hard to make sure their users stay locked into their products and formats.

Actually, the wonderful story that you have written right now may not be yours to see in the next decade, if it is written in a proprietary format. What is the solution ?

Open Office.

A very competent office solutions package which is free in all sense, cost as well as freedom over your own material. If Openoffice.org stops, you can unlock the text out of your documents yourself, which will be illegal in Word.

This is the story about the proprietary formats.
Freedom is here: www.openoffice.org

The wonderful point is that it also easily opens other microsoft formats like xls, doc, ppt, along with its own open standard formats 'ooxml' . You can give it a try. I'm sure it will be worth it's storage space and download time .

More info on the topic: http://www.getgnulinux.org/windows/

May be this will seem a bit too much of a worry on my side, but I hope we all realise it, realise our rights to our own freedom on content.

http://www.getgnulinux.org/windows/what_about_choice/

The software from Openoffice.org is free to download and distribute. There has recently been a try by MS to fool users into thinking that it is open but it is in fact not.