Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!samsung!munnari.oz.au!metro!ipso!runxtsa!clubmac
From: clubmac@runxtsa.runx.oz.au (Australia's Largest Mac Users Group)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Public Archive Format Issues
Keywords: encryption conversion issues
Message-ID: <2267@runxtsa.runx.oz.au>
Date: 19 Sep 90 02:10:18 GMT
References: <6050@spt.entity.com>
Organization: RUNX Unix Timeshare.  Sydney, Australia.
Lines: 62

In article <6050@spt.entity.com> mdc@spt.entity.com (Marty Connor) writes:
>Proposal for the Macintosh:
>Stick with Stuffit 1.5.1 format for now.  If a better format becomes
>public knowledge, then wait for a 1.5.1 -> Better-Public-Format
>program to appear.  Then switch to the new Public-Format.
>In this way vendors will be encouraged to make formats public to sell
>to all the people who use public bboards to download.

This is totally screwball. How many people seriously want to unstuff files
on a Unix host? I compress all the binhex, download it using ZMODEM and use
MacCompress to de-compress the binhex, then use StuffIt 1.5.1 to decode the
binhex, then unstuff the resulting file.

There is only one reason for not adopting Stuffit Deluxe archives, is that
the format is not available to the infinitesimal group who want to unstuff on
a machine other than a Macintosh. Since Stuffit Classic is still shareware,
people can use the stuffit deluxe format, and only pay the shareware fee.

I can bet that Marty didn't pay his shareware fee of $20, like the thousands
of shareware sneaks out there that use Stuffit for free.

>Benefits:
>Programmers will be able to manipulate archives without permission
>from greedy companies.

Great Marty, now you're calling Aladdin greedy. Wow you must be the last
American socialist...

Did you expect Stuffit to evolve without money? The shareware scheme failed
because people were too lousy to pay the $20.

>Users will have a choice in compression/decompression tools.

Users have had a choice for many moons.

>Companies will have incentive to give decent documentation and support
>to make it worth buying a proprietary product.

It's already worth it to buy products like Stuffit Deluxe & DiskDoubler.

>Request:
>If you believe these concerns are valid, please post this message to
>as many bulletin boards and online services as possible so that others
>can help keep public data in public formats.

Yes, lets hold back progress for the benefit of a handful of people that
want to do unusual things with Macintosh shareware archives. This would be
analogous to Apple withholding System software because it crashed on Mac
clones....

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| Jason Haines, Vice-President                                                |
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