🚀 go-pugleaf

> What we're talking about here are the internal workings or our respective
> programs and in all honestly I think we are the most qualified to
> discuss how AD works internally, NOT Aladdin.  I make no presumptions
> (publicly) about how SpaceSaver does its thing, although I'm fairly
> certain both from our experimentation and from talking to you.  I
> would appreciate it if you commented only on what is public knowledge
> about our product when discussing it without making assumptions about
> it's internal methodology.  Thank you.
> 
> Dave Heller
> AutoDoubler co-author
> Fifth Generation Systems 

(in reply to a message from Leonard Rosenthal of Aladdin in reply to a message 
to me in reply to a message from someone else about More Disk Space)


	Leaving the technical issues aside for the moment, I think this is a 
valid realm of discussion (though it's probably more appropriate to 
comp.sys.mac.misc or comp.sys.mac.programmer.  Unfortunately this news software 
doesn't allow me to easily redirect followups.)  This is especially true in an 
field like transparent compression software
where programs play fast and loose with compatibility guidelines 
and make use of features Apple did not mean for us to know.  (I know two of 
the products in this arena DEFINITELY do this.  Of three others I'm uncertain.)
The only way those of us who have some basic knowledge of these issues but who 
don't code compression software and muck with Macintosh internals on a daily 
basis are going to be able to make informed decisions is if those people who do 
do these things on a daily basis discuss them with us, preferably in public so 
everyone can benefit.  

	I'm glad to see that Aladdin and Fifth Generation now have 
knowledgable people participating in these discussions.  In the near future I 
expect to see a third company add their voice and experience.  And I've 
promised Justin Gray at Alysis (the makers of More Disk Space)
who unfortunately doesn't have Internet access at the moment, that I'll post a 
technical paper he's preparing on resource compression to 
comp.sys.mac.programmer.  I don't pretend to be knowledgeable enough to judge 
such a paper myself.  Nonetheless I hope that the reactions of others who are 
sufficiently knowledgeable (like Leonard and Dave) will help the 
rest of us to learn something.

--Elliotte