<p>Of course - I know that, but there are certain nuances and tiny formatting features that can be lost. I was using it as an example, perhaps, not the perfect one. The client will also expect everything returned in .docx etc. format. 
We don’t live in vacuum, and as long as there are others who quickly switch to the new tech, the rest of us has to keep up as well to stay competitive.</p>
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<p>You can also simply request the sender saves the document in the older .doc format. Hasn’t been an issue IME because most corporations/clients I’ve worked with had clients who insisted on the older .doc format. </p>
<p>In fact, I’ve known a few demanding clients who yelled at/fired professionals for using the docx format because it isn’t as universally compatible, </p>
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<p>If the client demands it, then you don’t have much of a choice. Interesting as my experience has almost always been the opposite…everyone seems to insist documents be saved in the older doc format or they’ll be hell to pay…</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the trend in multimedia devices is to have them be ‘personal’, whether TV’s, MP3 players, and the like. Think of it like this… Not long ago, a ‘stereo enthusiast’ would have invested $5k-10k easily on a good AV system, even more. Add a few more thousands of dollars for a nice AV distribution system and home theater room. People would be satisfied only if they would watch in uber-resolution and in uber-HD sound and so on.</p>
<p>Now it’s the opposite, 128kbps MP3, pitiful ‘HD’ video on portable devices, and so on. Yet people go for the small stuff. Lots of answers why.</p>
<p>One could invest serious $ in a very high end audio system which would be obsolete in a year or two, or buy a music player that would last a year or two, take it everywhere, and if it breaks, tough.</p>
<p>Also, people figured out it’s more about CONTENT and PERSONALIZATION than about QUALITY (of playback)… Few people could tell if their ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ copy does not sound right…</p>
<p>Changing technology is one reason we have as much as we do… whenever a new windows operating system comes out, my dad needs to get a new computer for work because he’s a software developer and needs to make his program compatible-- and even before he was self-employed, that was generally the case just because computers are his ONE interest and hobby. My mom, my sister, and I inherit the old ones as he progresses through them. My sister and I each have one “new” computer that we got as our HS graduation presents for school, our laptops. Our oldest computer runs windows 3.1 (!!!). The televisions have worked out similarly. Our oldest tv is an ancient tube tv that only barely works with the cable boxes we use today.</p>
<p>Obviously not every family is like mine, but I wanted to provide my anecdote as an example to how those huge numbers can be misleading… it’s not like we’re huge resource hogs who spend all day watching our seven televisions… on any given day likely only two of them get turned on.</p>
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<p>This was much more true in the '90’s and before when technological progress with computers was rapid enough that even those using office suites would notice a big difference in speed by upgrading each year. Due to finances, I had to stick with one gifted laptop that ended up completely dying on me after 2 years of careful usage. </p>
<p>Ended up having to get another laptop which still runs to this day…albeit in the possession of a friend who was in a similar financial position I was in undergrad. </p>
<p>In fact, with the exception of my first college laptop and a shoddy el-cheapo desktop mom purchased in the late 90’s…every other computer…desktop or laptop has lasted 8+ years. Ended up giving them away to friends, relatives, and needy acquaintances/strangers who are still using them for office/internet apps to this day. </p>
<p>Moreover, with two notable exceptions, every computer I have had in my possession came to me gratis…either gifted by family/friends or dumped on me by fed up friends/clients. Most fell into the latter category so I ended up getting them to work again and using them for learning more about different software/operating systems.</p>