CompuServe Messages

Harv, While you can indeed see what's in a .PAK file by using the PAK utility, it does not solve the two major problems inherent in a .PAK file. The first is that one of the beneifits of PAK is that you don't need, and indeed may not have PAK itself. The second is that even with PAK, one is still not sure that the .PAK file contains what it is said to contain. This is a dangerous situation for a file that you run, without benefit being able to look at it first. With ARC, the file you are unARCing does not execute, and no harm can occur during that process. Lest you think that this is overly paranoid, I assure you that if you have been once bitten by a destructive program, you will hesitate to take any program on faith alone. As I say, we do check every file here in the DLs, so it is less of an issue than it otherwise would be. As far as Mark's perception of piracy and the Amiga is concerned, he is in the same boat as authors of software everywhere, and on every machine. If he expects people to send him shareware contributions, he will definitely need to improve the product a LOT. It has a big hurdle to overcome in the area of compatibility with other systems, in which area ARC already shines. It's a 'Catch 22' situation. He doesn't want to put the time in if people aren't contributing, and they won't unless he puts the time in. Regards, Larry.