>I don't have an Internet control panel, I'm using systems from 7.5.5 >to 8.1. The problem with suffix mapping in this case is that the >file format of Stuffit files changes from version, but the suffix >doesn't; I guessed lucky that you were using Stuffit 5 format (type >SIT5, creator SITx) but this could not have been more than a guess, >whether it was a computer or a human doing the mapping.
The filetype is irrelevant, and the creator only enables Stuffit Expander to start up automatically. You can drag and drop any file onto Expander and it will work provided that it recognises the content as being one of the compression formats it understands. You should still be able to get Internet Config if you don't already have it - try google. There's one part of it (the ICeTEa extension) which I still use, since for some reason Apple didn't incorporate that into the system. >The same design bug on Aladdin's part often gets you downloading an >archive and then scrambling around to find something to process it - >some Stuffit "upgrades" have not been capable of unpacking archives >made with earlier versions. I haven't seen that. I have however seen it report that the file was corrupted when it was actually compressed with a later version. >> I thought I'd save everybody a bit of download time (and me quite >> a lot of upload time) by uploading a binary file rather than a >> BinHex file this time (works OK for me), so I hope it doesn't lead >> to a lot of complaints. > >The difference due to ASCII encoding is about 20%, I think. Even on >my 14.4K modem I find that worth the extra reliability - BinHex will >tell you if you've got a broken archive, Stuffit often won't (just >quits with no warning and leaves you guessing). Actual difference is 36%. >Aladdin is trying very hard to become the Microsoft of Macintosh >utility software. I think it's still the case that a self-extracting >archive of BarFly would need three times as much RAM to perform its >extraction as BarFly itself needs to typeset and play the Goldberg >Variations. Manufacturers always aim their software at the latest machines, because they're in business to make a living, and overwhelmingly it's people with new machines that buy software. All new macs come with at least 256Mb of RAM, so a memory partition of 4Mb is by modern standards a tiny program. Expander can unpack dozens of different file formats, and since PPC code is unsegmented all of the code has to load up before it can run, regardless of whether it's needed or not. Most users find that the convenience of being able to unpack .sit, .zip, .Z, .gz, .lha etc. without having to locate the appropriate program is worth it. Phil Taylor To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
