'Rich Text Files' that should be compatible with most word processing packages. However, not all formatting from the original version of the document is always retained, but the text should be accessible.
Zipping files compresses them to a smaller size to save time when downloading. You will need zip software to 'unzip' the compressed files. You can get an evaluation copy of WinZip from: http://www.winzip.com/ddchomea.htm