Microsoft strikes again

I've been getting files lately (as have my clients) with the extension of .docx

I can't open these files, and at first I didn't know what they were. (I looked it up to make sure that the file wasn't a virus or corrupt file)

Apparently they are Microsoft's new file extensions for their newest version of Word, Word 2007. I don't have the newest version of Word, so I can't say for sure, but if someone sends you a document with this version of Word, you can ask them to re-save it in an earlier version (if Word 2007 has that option, older versions did). Or if there is no images or it isn't a complicated document with tables or so forth, you could have them just save it as a text file.

However if you can't ask, there is a website called DOCX Converter that you can upload your file to, give them your email address and in my tests, within an hour you get your file converted and you can copy the text to your own version of Word.

Open Office can't open these files yet, but I'm sure that they eventually will work out a converter as well, so you have a Microsoft free alternative.