Microsoft Office Drops Support For Older File Formats

Well, that's the point of proprietary formats isn't it? It's about leverage towards built-in obsolescence. It's the economics of drug addiction: hook 'em then screw 'em. Open standards is the way to go. So I'd echo this plea. "... there’s an alternative which is somewhat easier (and free): just grab a copy of OpenOffice which can handle the older file formats. Once you’ve got them open, now might be a good time to convert them to ODF documents lest Office 2017 decide to again disable support for older file formats."
Microsoft Office Drops Support For Older File Formats | Compiler from Wired.com: