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From: dwal@ellis.uchicago.edu (David Walton)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: StuffIt Deluxe
Message-ID: <1990Aug30.052325.10540@midway.uchicago.edu>
Date: 30 Aug 90 05:23:25 GMT
References: <2146@ux.acs.umn.edu> <1990Aug29.204448.23954@svc.portal.com> <5186@spt.entity.com>
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Organization: U. Chicago Computing Organizations, Academic and Public Comp.
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In article <5186@spt.entity.com> mdc@spt.UUCP (Marty Connor) writes:

>I strongly favor a BOYCOTT of STUFFIT DELUXE[TM] for the purposes of
>distributing software until such time as their format is public
>domain, and it has at least been decided that it can be implemented
>efficiently on other platforms.
>
>The current situation is just a cheap way for Alladin and Raymond Lau
>to try and pull off another defacto standard under the guise of being
>nice guys.
>
>Let's keep using a format that is known and usable, and send a message
>to Ray and Company that this game of getting people hooked and then
>charging them is NOT ACCEPTABLE for the distribution of software in
>public forums.

I don't see how the world under Stuffit Deluxe would be that much
different than with 1.5.1.  To wit:

*  Stuffit 1.5.1 was Shareware, at least in theory requiring the user
   to pay a fee to use it.  Stuffit Deluxe is commercial, again
   requiring the user to pay a fee to use it.  Deluxe is not as easy
   to get without paying the fee (boy, what an outrage!  Making folks
   pay for the software they use?!), is more expensive, and offers
   more features.

*  Stuffit 1.5.1 came with UnStuffit, a free utility for unstuffing
   archives so that those folks who wanted to download software didn't
   have to pay to do it.  Deluxe has UnStuffit Deluxe for the same
   purpose, also free.

*  Stuffit 1.5.1's format was public.  Other folks could therefore
   write utilities to uncompress Stuffit archives.  Deluxe's format
   will be proprietary, with Aladdin giving it to people who they
   think have good reason to have it.


The only difference is the last point.  I see no a priori reason to
think that they (Lau & Aladdin) will be unreasonably obnoxious or even
close-lipped about who gets to see the Deluxe archive format.  And
what on earth does the ability to use this format _efficiently_ on
other platforms have to do with it being public?  Yes, it means that
fewer people (probably fewer non-professional developer types) will be
able to test it out immediately.  That doesn't mean we'll never know
if it works well on other platforms; it doesn't necessarily mean we'll
even have to wait that much longer to know--unless Aladdin's writing
an UnStuffit for another platform themselves, it's in their interest
to get the format out to interested parties quickly, so there'll be
more products to support the standard.

Personally, I too would prefer that the standard were public, but I
can also understand that Aladdin might rather not release it.  And I
think your accusations that Lau and Aladdin are trying to establish a
standard so they can screw us all later are both premature and
inflammatory.  If Lau/Aladdin do end up doing this, then very likely
someone will write a new standard.  Used to be everything was .pit,
not .sit, after all....

But then, this is just my $.02.  Me, I'll wait for Macintosh ZIP.

>Marty Connor, Marty's Computer Workshop,  "Specializing in Macintosh Training"



--
David Walton            Internet: dwal@midway.uchicago.edu
University of Chicago   {  Any opinions found herein are mine, not  }
Computing Organizations {  those of my employers (or anybody else). }