From: brecher@husc8.harvard.edu (Jonathan Brecher)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: Re: Can't UnStuff DarkSide 3.2 From Sumex (Heed Nelp!)
Date: 1 Jan 93 10:20:03 GMT
Article-I.D.: husc8.BRECHER.93Jan1022003
Distribution: usa
Organization: Harvard Arts and Sciences Computer Services, Cambridge, MA
In-reply-to: siegel@world.std.com's message of 1 Jan 93 04:08:13 GMT

siegel@world.std.com (Rich Siegel) writes:
>In article <1993Jan1.020105.9470@stortek.com> pg@sanitas.stortek.com (Paul Gilmartin) writes:
>>Curse Aladdin for planned obsolescence; a powerful argument for staying
>>with Compact Pro.

>How do you figure this? By definition, if there are architectural changes
>in a file format, an older version can't open files created by a newer
>version of the program, or if it can, it can't take advantage of the 
>functionality offered by the newer version's format.
>This isn't 'planned obsolescence', this is progress.
>It's not a 'powerful argument for staying with Compact Pro', because
>Compact Pro is subject to the same limitations.
>There's no reason to 'curse Aladdin', since, after all, they provide a
>free expander for their current file format, as they always have. In 
>fact, it's a pretty good reason to use the Aladdin format, since they
>haven't forgotten to support the users of the shareware StuffIt products.
>Whether this is smart PR or common sense is moot - the fact is that
>StuffIt Expander can unstuff any StuffIt file format back to the 
>original.

I do curse Aladdin and I will continue to curse Aladdin.

Why?

1.)  The first commercial version of StuffIt came out within months of the
     first version of Compactor (sorry, I forget which was first).  It took 
     TWO YEARS for Aladdin to come up with a serious challenge in terms of
     compression and speed

2.)  StuffIt 3.0 (in whatever flavor) is neither ALWAYS faster nor ALWAYS
     produces smaller archives than Compact Pro, although it OFTEN does
     either or both.  However, the difference in compression percentage is
     RARELY more than a few percentage points.

3.)  Having released version 3.0, they didn't even get it right.  We went
     through 3.0.1, 3.0.2, and 3.0.3, and rumor has it that 3.0.4 is either
     out, almost out, or soon to be released.  Do I hear 3.0.5?  Compact Pro
     got it right two years ago and hasn't needed to be modified since.
     The ways in which Compact Pro HAS been modified -- yes, I know version
     1.33 came out this year -- have caused ZERO incompatibilities.

4.)  Compact Pro takes up 97K on disk for a complete installation (I checked).
     StuffIt takes up, what? 500K? 900K?  I don't know; I don't have it 
     installed.  

5.)  Watch this newsgroup.  Count people who are having problems with StuffIt
     (understanding the differences between StuffIt Deluxe/Lite/Expander/
     UnstuffitDeluxe, figuring out the current version, getting the updaters
     to work properly, etc.)  Count people who have any complaints about 
     Compact Pro.  'Nuf said.


Note that this isn't a complaint against Mr. Rosenthal per se.  I have
tremendous respect for the amount of time he obviously spends on these
newsgroups.  Aladdin as a corporation, however, I Do Not Like.

For thse who care, yes, I did pay my shareware for Compact Pro.

...and now I'm bracing for the flames... 

						jonathan brecher
						brecher@husc.harvard.edu