ALADDIN SYSTEMS ANNOUNCES BANDWIDTH BREAKTHROUGH- STUFFIT COMPRESSION
SOFTWARE NOW INCREASES INTERNET FILE TRANSFER SPEED BY 20%, NETTING A
PHENOMENAL REDUCTION IN COST AND SPACE
New StuffIt Technology Saves More Time And Money Than Any Other Compression
Product On Any Platform, Includes Unique Cross-Platform And Multi-Lingual
Capabilities For Improved Internet Or Network File Transfers
Watsonville, CA- November 9, 1998 - Aladdin Systems today announced it is
shipping StuffIt(r) Deluxe 5.0, the award-winning Macintosh compression
software. The version 5.0 includes tighter compression, Mac OS 8.5
compatibility, support for MacBinary III encoding formats, additional email
program support, and more.
"Time is money, space is money and Aladdin saves both- more than any other
commercial compression product on any platform," said Darryl Lovato, chief
technology officer.
With StuffIt Deluxe 5.0, users at all levels can benefit:
*Downloads of compressed files are 20% faster
*Increases internal hard disk capacity by 20%
*Increases bandwidth by 20% over networks
*Reduces hardware upgrade costs by expanding capacity
*Reduces distribution costs
*Saves users time and money to send and receive files over the Internet and
Intranets
*Cross-platform compatibility eases communication
"StuffIt Deluxe 5.0's increased compression creates a unique solution for
the real world where Macintosh and Windows users co-exist," said Marty
McGillivray, product manager. "We are excited that StuffIt's new format
dramatically increases the ease of cross-platform information exchange.
With the recent release of Aladdin DropStuff for Windows, there is now a
common archive format specifically designed for both Windows and Macintosh
platforms."
New StuffIt Deluxe 5.0 Features And Benefits Include:
*New StuffIt technology provides 20% compression improvement
*New StuffIt file format is cross-platform and internationally savvy
*Mac OS 8.5 compatibility (and backward compatibility to System 7.5.3)
*Support for new MacBinary III format
*Transparent cross-platform file format interchange identifies associated
Mac applications
*More "Stuff and Mail" compression and email support in Magic Menu extension
*Archive Via Rename( and Magic Menu support for .hqx and .bin
*Ability to remove ".sea" and replace with ".sit" for fast archive viewing
*Finder "Get Info" comments now saved and restored
*Archive content verification from Magic Menu
*Web connectivity allows easy product registration and answers to Aladdin
FAQs (frequently asked questions)
Best Compression With New StuffIt Technology StuffIt Deluxe 5.0's new
compression algorithm is 20% better than previous versions of StuffIt or
Zip. The new StuffIt saves more hard drive space and speeds Internet file
transfers. The new version lets users choose between "Maximum" or "Fast"
compression.
New Cross-Platform File Format
Aladdin introduced a new file format with StuffIt Deluxe 5.0. Designed for
the next century, the new format allows StuffIt to exchange files between
Windows and Macintosh systems. StuffIt Deluxe 5.0 also stores file names in
Unicode, allowing for better cross-platform and international support.
New OS Compatibility
Version 5.0 is compatible with System 7.5.3 to 8.5. Version 5.0 is
compatible with old StuffIt archives (version 4.5 and earlier).
Support for New MacBinary III Format
Version 5.0 supports the MacBinary III format in Mac OS 8.5 and offers
backward compatibility. For Mac OS 8.5 users, MacBinary III support in
StuffIt Deluxe 5.0 is required to retain icon badges and custom routing
information with Internet file transfers. Some web browsers depend on
applications like StuffIt to transparently access files that may not be
correctly identified as ".bin" files.
Transparent Windows/DOS File Interchange "Type" and "creator" coding for
files received by Windows/DOS platforms are recognized by Internet Config
(a popular program to help users to set-up their software configurations).
If a user doesn't have Internet Config, then StuffIt uses a similar (to
Internet Config) updated table of extensions for Windows/DOS files. This
table of codes displays accurate internal file information to help identify
the best Macintosh application to use with these files.
Additional "Stuff And Mail" Email Support In Magic Menu Integration with
email software is easy with the "Stuff and Mail" feature from Magic Menu.
Support for MS Outlook Express and Bare Bones' Mailsmith was added to
existing email support for AOL, Eudora, Claris EMailer, QuickMail Pro,
QuarterDeck Mail and Lotus cc:Mail.
Added Archive Via Rename And Magic Menu .hqx And .bin Functionality The
renaming functionality of Archive Via Rename and the Magic Menu compression
extension has been extended to include BinHex (.hqx) and MacBinary (.bin)
to give eight options for renaming archives right from the Finder.
Ability To Remove .sea And Replace With .sit For Fast Archive Viewing Magic
Menu has a new "Remove Self-Extracting" feature that allows users to easily
remove the self-extracting (.sea) code, leaving in its place a StuffIt
(.sit) archive. This allows users to view and manipulate the contents of
archives with the StuffIt Browser instead of having to launch the StuffIt
Deluxe application.
Retain Finder's "Get Info" Comments in Archives Valuable information stored
in the Finder's "Get Info" comments can now be retained when saving and
restoring compressed documents.
Archive Content Verification
Magic Menu now gives the ability to verify the integrity of StuffIt
archives. A user can select one or more archives for StuffIt to check and
verify.
Web Connectivity Help
A web support application within StuffIt Deluxe 5.0 allows users to
register their product quickly and efficiently via the Aladdin web site.
Users can also be directly connected to Aladdin's technical support help
pages, where they can find Aladdin contact information, as well as answers
to frequently asked questions.
Other Features Included In StuffIt Deluxe StuffIt Deluxe continues to
include previous features from earlier versions like DropSegment(tm), a
drag-and-drop segmenting tool for transporting large files on removable
media, and StuffIt SpaceSaver(tm), an easy-to-use, transparent compression
software tool that helps make more space available on hard disks.
StuffIt Deluxe continues to take advantage of True Finder Integration(tm)
(TFI), a control panel that acts as a central location where users can
tailor StuffIt's integration into the Mac OS Finder.
The TFI control panel includes the StuffIt Browser(tm), Magic Menu, and
Archive Via Rename. These features have been enhanced to maximize user
efficiency.
StuffIt Deluxe continues to access all the popular file formats found
online with StuffIt Expander 5.0: StuffIt (.sit), Compact Pro (.cpt),
AppleLink (.pkg), ZIP (.zip), ARC (.arc), gzip (.gz), tar (.tar), Unix
Compress (.Z), LHA (.lha), uuencode (.uu), BinHex (.hqx), MacBinary (.bin),
MIME/Base64, and SpaceSaver-compressed files. StuffIt can also access
Private File documents and StuffIt-segmented files.
The StuffIt Deluxe 5.0 CD also includes the latest versions of Aladdin
Expander(tm) freeware and Aladdin DropStuff(tm) for Windows. Adding the
Windows compression and expansion software makes file access transparent
for multi-platform businesses and users that have both Macs and PCs.
Pricing, Availability, and Requirements
StuffIt Deluxe 5.0 carries an estimated US street price of $79.95. Aladdin
is offering a special price to previously registered owners through its
website, Aladdin's customer service, retail and catalog rebates; pricing as
follows:
$29.95 US: Registered users of StuffIt Deluxe 4.5, DropStuff with Expander
Enhancer(tm) 4.5, Compact Pro, AutoDoubler, DiskDoubler, and to users of
Eudora Pro 3.X, (that includes The Eudora Productivity Toolkit). Offer
valid through March 1999.
FREE: To purchasers of StuffIt Deluxe 4.5 in October and November 1998,
offer valid in 1998 only.
Upgrade offers require a proof of purchase. To be eligible for the discount
users must fax a copy of their contact information, payment method and
proof of purchase to Aladdin's customer service: (831) 761-6206 or
761-6209. Proof of purchase can be their registration number, OR a receipt
of their purchase, OR a photocopy of their manual cover or CDs or
diskettes. Upgrade offers subject to pay shipping fee $7.50 US and Canada,
$25.00 US international. Retail upgrade offers vary by country.
Order from the Aladdin store:
http://www.aladdinsys.com/deluxe/upgrade.html, or contact Aladdin's 24-hour
order service at 800-850-3388 (for US and Canadian customers) or Aladdin's
customer service at (831)761-6200 x4.
StuffIt Deluxe is available throughout the US and Canada from all leading
mail order and retail computer stores, and is distributed by Ingram Micro,
Merisel, EMJ Data Systems LTD, and The Douglas Stewart Company. Check
Aladdin's website for international channel partners:
http://www.aladdinsys.com/order/intl.html.
StuffIt Deluxe is compatible with any 68020 Macintosh computer (or later)
with 8MB of RAM and System 7.5.3 or higher, or Mac OS 8.X. The StuffIt
Deluxe application and the StuffIt Engine are now PowerPC native.
Aladdin Systems: Making Access Transparent - Founded in 1988, Aladdin
Systems, Inc. is celebrating 10 years of developing and publishing
award-winning business and consumer products. Aladdin publishes StuffIt_,
the worldwide compression standard; Aladdin FlashBack(tm), unlimited
"Undos" and instant access to any document version in any application;
Private File(tm), the easiest cross-platform security software, Spring
Cleaning(tm), the #1 uninstaller for the Mac; InstallerMaker(tm), the
Macintosh installation and distribution standard; ShrinkWrap(tm), the
quickest and easiest way to create and distribute disk images, and Aladdin
Desktop Magician(tm), a personalized desktop file management tool. Aladdin
provides computing solutions for everyday life.
Aladdin is located at 165 Westridge Drive, Watsonville, CA 95076, USA;
telephone: (831)761-6200; URL: http://www.aladdinsys.com; e-mail:
info@aladdinsys.com.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Jennifer Lyng or Nicole Rowland
pr@aladdinsys.com, (831) 761-6200 x7
http://www.aladdinsys.com/pressroom
