The tyranny of the new (file format)

So, all geared up with your bright shiny new Adobe CS3 and Word 2007 then? Buyer beware, new is not necessarily better, especially if you plan to share your documents with other users.

It really gets my goat when the vast behemoths of the software industry try to foist the latest versions of their overblown, overpriced mega apps on the unsuspecting public by stealth.

By default the applications from the likes of Adobe and Microsoft save in the ‘latest’ cut of their proprietary format, this is normally a slightly re-engineered version of the last file format with differences so subtle that they are identical to all but the most demanding of professional users — even then I question the benefit, other than to the sales sheet of the software house that created them.

What it does mean is that unless you are savvy enough to think about retro saving your file in an older file format version no-one but the other lucky souls who have joined you in scrambling up the financially steep and treacherous upgrade path will be able to open the files that you drop into their unsuspecting inbox.