pj@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Paul Jacoby) (02/19/91)
I'd like to add a few StuffIt Deluxe bugs to the list (before I put them in my soon-to-be LONG letter to Aladdin). Here is what I found last night in about 5 minutes. (1) Using SIT Converter, *all* 1.5.1 archive comments will be TOSSED during the conversion. This is unacceptable--I have nearly a dozen meg of stuffed cdevs and INITs, many which have NO documentation other than that which I have entered in the StuffIt archives. For goodness sake, even Mr. Goodman will convert archive comments in his SitToCpt program! Wake up, Aladdin. (2) Using the ZIP converter, all files will LOSE their linefeeds. This too is unacceptable--sometimes we NEED those little boxy characters. Let's make this an OPTION, ok? (3) Using the BINHEX decoder, open a file that is plain text, not HQX. The program will hang. Neato. (4) Back to the ZIP converter, open a file which is not a ZIP file. The program will hang. Extra neato. (5) Many times I have pulled files from mac.binaries which will StuffIt Deluxe will not convert. This includes after cleaning out all headers and joining all pieces together. Even so, BinHqx DA handles them with no problems. Super neato. (6) A test run of some 6.7 meg of stuffed 1.5.1 format files (254 total) showed a converted size of 6.29 meg when changed to Best Guess form. Ooooo, 6.6% improvement. And it only took 1.25 hours to do it.... We are not impressed. I guess the point of all this is to ask one main thing: "Aladdin, what happened here?" StuffIt used to be good, the best. Now it is an aging, overstuffed program that fails to live up to it's shining past. In a word, it's a PIG. In size, speed, and compression. Can we expect great things from 3.0? Will there *be* a 3.0? Will there **need** to be a 3.0? (p.s. I have been trying to remain a StuffIt user, but I grow more disgusted with it as the days pass) .-----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | UUCP: {crash tcnet}!orbit!pnet51!pj | RTFD = Read The Silly Doc! | | INET: pj@pnet51.orb.mn.org | | `-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
long@mcntsh.enet.dec.com (Rich Long) (02/20/91)
In article <4145@orbit.cts.com>, pj@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Paul Jacoby) writes...
[bugs in Stuffit]
The solution is simple: Use Compact Pro!
I've converted all my archived shareware/PD stuff from Stuffit to Compact Pro
and haven't looked back. CP makes it easy to manage multi-floppy archives, is
fast, tight, and Multi-Finder friendly. I like it!
The only reason I keep Stuffit around is to read the occasional Deluxe
archive. If only Aladdin would brace up and make the format available, Bill
could update Compact Pro to handle those too. And if Salient would brace up
and read Compact Pro archives, I'd be even more happy!
Richard C. Long * long@mcntsh.enet.dec.com
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