Some of the documents on DISCourse are in the new file formats used by Microsoft Office 2007, 2008 (Mac) and 2010. There are a number of ways to open them even if you don't have one of these versions of Microsoft Office on your computer at home.
No Microsoft Office
If you don't own Microsoft Office, you can download OpenOffice.org for free. The latest version can open the 2007 Office file formats. OpenOffice.org is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Older Microsoft Office
If you have Microsoft Office 2003 for Windows you can download the free Office 2007 Compatibility Pack. If you have Office 2004 for the Mac, you can download the free Open XML File Format Converter for Mac. Installing one of these free addons will enable you to open docx, xlsx and pptx files in older versions of Microsoft Office.
Get the Latest Microsoft Office
Windows users can purchase Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010 which can be installed on up to 3 home computers. Mac users can purchase Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student which also supports the new file formats.