2nd
Text Files Should Be Readable — Why Use .docx?
Fortunately, I don’t often get Word files sent to me. But when I do, I’m always a bit annoyed by docx files because I don’t want to upgrade my version of Word — and Google Docs doesn’t convert uploaded docx files (yet). So I’m stuck using weird services like Zamzar to convert the files. What a pain. I don’t understand why mostly “text” files need to be obscured so that you can’t make heads or tails out of them without a fancy viewer application (aka Word 2007 or higher). If there needs to be markup text or other fancy things in documents, can’t we use something sensible to view them (a browser perhaps?). I guess if the goal is to lock everyone into a Microsoft format and force consumers to upgrade — then docx is a logical format. Just wish text editor apps didn’t have to compete like that….
