[comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d] PKZIP 1.10 availability

routh@eltanin.rtp.semi.harris.com (Kevin Routh x622) (06/14/90)

Is PKZIP version 1.10 available for posting?  If so, could someone please
uuencode it and either post it or mail it to me.  I have an older version 
and saw an article in PC Week which compared version 1.10 to other compres-
sion utilities.  If it's no longer available via BBS, how should I get the
new one?


--
Kevin Routh (routh@eltanin.rtp.semi.harris.com)
Harris Smart Power Products, Durham, NC
(919) 361-1622

glenn@stsim.ocs.com (glenn ford) (06/15/90)

In article <1990Jun14.013955.3783@mlb.semi.harris.com> routh@eltanin.rtp.semi.harris.com (Kevin Routh x622) writes:
>Is PKZIP version 1.10 available for posting?  If so, could someone please
>uuencode it and either post it or mail it to me.  I have an older version 
>and saw an article in PC Week which compared version 1.10 to other compres-
>sion utilities.  If it's no longer available via BBS, how should I get the
>new one?

Why is it not available via BBS? I have it on my BBS. The PC Week article
did not test using ZOO, which has been around for ages, which i thought
was surprising. They also did not test using LHARC which is public domain
and comes with complete source code AND has better compression than pkzip
in *most* cases. It's as usual. People doing these "benchmarks" are
way behind on whats going on.


BBS:  301-972-6131
HOME: 301-972-2310
UUCP: ..uunet!ocsmd!stsim!glenn

roelofs@amelia.nas.nasa.gov (Ender Wiggin) (06/17/90)

In article <878@stsim.ocs.com> glenn@stsim.ocs.com (glenn ford) writes:

>Why is it not available via BBS? I have it on my BBS.

Since, technically speaking, it's illegal to export the regular version of
PKZIP 1.10 outside the US/Canada (it contains encryption technology, which
is a Bad Thing to export), some BBSs may choose not to carry it in order to
protect themselves from legal action by Uncle Sam.

>                                                      The PC Week article
>did not test using ZOO, which has been around for ages, which i thought
>was surprising. They also did not test using LHARC which is public domain
>and comes with complete source code AND has better compression than pkzip
>in *most* cases. It's as usual. People doing these "benchmarks" are
>way behind on whats going on.

It is too bad they chose to ignore ZOO, since it's available on the widest
variety of operating systems; on the other hand, it's quite slow and has 
only mediocre compression, so it's perhaps not such a great loss for a PC
magazine to pass over it.

LHARC, btw, is NOT public domain, at least as of the last version I saw; the
Unix version is copyrighted by Yooichi Tagawa, and I'm pretty sure the PC
version is as well.  It is free, however.  And it's been my experience that
PKZIP almost always manages better compression, although the actual archive
may end up larger (especially if it contains many small files) due to the
greater amount of overhead PKZIP stores (pathnames, comments, you-name-it).
The two programs are generally within a few percent of each other, though.
And, of course, if you're working on a Unix system, LHARC is infinitely more
efficient. :)

ergo@netcom.UUCP (Isaac Rabinovitch) (06/17/90)

In <6780@amelia.nas.nasa.gov> roelofs@amelia.nas.nasa.gov (Ender Wiggin) writes:

>In article <878@stsim.ocs.com> glenn@stsim.ocs.com (glenn ford) writes:

>> They also did not test using LHARC which is public domain
>>and comes with complete source code AND has better compression than pkzip
>>in *most* cases. It's as usual. People doing these "benchmarks" are
>>way behind on whats going on.


>LHARC, btw, is NOT public domain, at least as of the last version I saw; the
>Unix version is copyrighted by Yooichi Tagawa, and I'm pretty sure the PC
>version is as well.  It is free, however.
Bear in mind that Glenn, like most people, thinks "public domain" means
"software the author doesn't expect you to pay for."  Since definitions
in the end comes from usage, that'll probably be the standard definition
before long.  In any case, I've long since given up correcting people
on this point.

To anticipate all the people who'll correct *me*:  some free software *is*
public domain, but the terms aren't synonymous.  Public domain means
lacking copyright or other legal protection.  People who give away software
often copyright it, to prevent others from selling it or providing
versions with unauthorized changes, or to protect future commercial versions,
or their exclusive right to publish the source code in a book, and so on.
At least that's the legal definition; as I said, usage always has
the final say in the end.
>  And it's been my experience that
>PKZIP almost always manages better compression, although the actual archive
>may end up larger (especially if it contains many small files) due to the
>greater amount of overhead PKZIP stores (pathnames, comments, you-name-it).
>The two programs are generally within a few percent of each other, though.
I know a sysop who (just after the ZIP/ARC wars) went to LHARC because of
that few percent.  (He has nearly a gigabyte of files, so even a small
savings was worth it to him.)  But he finally switched to ZIP because, I
gather, he needed more support than he could get from a non-commercial
product.

roy@cybrspc (Roy M. Silvernail) (06/18/90)

ergo@netcom.UUCP (Isaac Rabinovitch) writes:

> In <6780@amelia.nas.nasa.gov> roelofs@amelia.nas.nasa.gov (Ender Wiggin) writ
> 
> I know a sysop who (just after the ZIP/ARC wars) went to LHARC because of
> that few percent.  (He has nearly a gigabyte of files, so even a small
> savings was worth it to him.)  But he finally switched to ZIP because, I
> gather, he needed more support than he could get from a non-commercial
> product.

I also moved to LHarc with my BBS (in Alaska, and now defunct since I
moved south) because of the advantage in size. However, when version
1.10 of PKZIP was released, the difference in size shrank to such a
small margin that PKZIP's faster compression and decompression became
more important. I didn't delete LHarc, though... it still produces the
smallest self-extracting file.
--
____________________________________________________________________________
     Roy M. Silvernail      \/  #include <opinions.h>; #define opinions MINE
     now available at:       \  "If they ever figure out who you really are,
{...}!umn.cs.edu!cybrspc!roy  \     you'll die the True Death for sure!"
______________________________/\__________-- Mr. Slippery __________________

U5533129@ucsvc.ucs.unimelb.edu.au (CARDIOLOGY, R.M.H.) (06/18/90)

>>Why is it not available via BBS? I have it on my BBS.
> 
> Since, technically speaking, it's illegal to export the regular version of
> PKZIP 1.10 outside the US/Canada (it contains encryption technology, which
> is a Bad Thing to export), some BBSs may choose not to carry it in order to
> protect themselves from legal action by Uncle Sam.

Funny thing...

You can dial up most BBS in Australia and get a copy, complete with the message
about not exporting it from the states.

P.S.  Does that mean I could post it to the net? :-)

routh@eltanin.rtp.semi.harris.com (Kevin Routh x622) (06/27/90)

> Is PKZIP version 1.10 available for posting?  If so, could someone please
> uuencode it and either post it or mail it to me.  I have an older version 
> and saw an article in PC Week which compared version 1.10 to other compres-
> sion utilities.  If it's no longer available via BBS, how should I get the
> new one?
> 
Thanks so much for all the responses to my posting.  I received PKZip 1.10 
about 6 times via mail (once from Europe).  Thanks again for the help!!

--
Kevin Routh (routh@eltanin.rtp.semi.harris.com)
Harris Smart Power Products, Durham, NC
(919) 361-1622