Having problem with Microsoft Office's files?

One good reason to use Ubuntu is that it comes with OpenOffice.

If you're using Microsoft Office 2003, but want to read files created by Microsoft Office 2007, you need to install Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats before you could view the files, since the format is different.

It could cause inconvenience, especially if you don't have an internet connection.

But if you're using OpenOffice, doesn't matter if it's MS Office 2003 or 2007 files, it won't be a problem.