Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!ames!oliveb!3comvax!bridge2!ngg
From: ngg@bridge2.UUCP (Norman Goodger)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: StuffIt 1.5 vs. 1.40B
Summary: Its worth it, pay for it..
Message-ID: <53@bridge2.UUCP>
Date: 29 Aug 88 21:32:09 GMT
References: <24519@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA>
Organization: 3Com Corp., Mt. View, CA
Lines: 29

In article <24519@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA>, mkhaw@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA (Mike Khaw) writes:
> I just downloaded StuffIt 1.5 and read the user's guide.  I notice that it
> now says that StuffIt is shareware, period. (UnStuffIt 1.5 is still freeware).
> The user's guide for 1.40B says that if you only use it for UNstuffing,
> StuffIt 1.40B is freeware.  I personally only use StuffIt for unstuffing and
> unBinHexing, and I'd rather not have to use UnStuffIt AND BinHex 4.0 (because
> UnStuffIt doesn't do unBinHexing).
> So, my question is, is it really intended that StuffIt 1.5 is shareware, even
> if I use it only for unstuffing and unBinHexing?  If so, I won't use StuffIt
> 1.5.
> 
>Mike Khaw

This to me is the classic case of being a cheapskate, Stuffit and its
associated utilities are well worth very low shareware fee. The $20 That
Ray Lau asks is nothing in comparison to the usefulness of Stuffit, the
accompanying DA's and his SF VOL init. Just because you decide that you
only use it for "unstuffing" and unbinhexing, does not make it so that you
should not pay the fee. If something is good and well worth the $$, and you
find yourself using it, pay for it. THe original intentions of Stuffit were
fine, but now that you cannot login anywhere without locating files that
are stuffed with Stuffit, a lot of sysops have even converted a large
number of files from Packit format to Stuffit, because Stuffit does a better
job of compression. So I think that Ray is well justified in having a shareware
fee for his products. The other problem that you face is that 1.5 will allow
you to stuff folders, which may not let 1.4 unstuff files that are packed
as folders, so you will need 1.5 anyway most likely...I would stop 
procrastinating, and just pay the $20, anyone with a mac should be able to
afford that and the .25 cent stamp....