EXCLUSIVES

StuffIt Deluxe 10.0 > a Major Milestone

Words by Simon Hayes
January 2006

The latest update from Allume Systems in the super-successful Stuffit product line represents a major milestone in compression technology. If, like many Macintosh users, you’ve used Stuffit since the early days, Stuffit Deluxe 10.0 may be the version you want to pay for. Stuffit Deluxe is a major update, far more than a compression program, the full product now sports features like security and backup utilities you may not be aware off. In addition, you can be sure that the technology behind this product, the new “.sitx” file format, will expand the Stuffit Empire well beyond its desktop dominance in Macintosh and PC systems and into new platforms like wireless phones. Version 10, a whole new build for Tiger (also compatible with 10.3) offers far-greater integration with the Macintosh finder, and with common applications, like Microsoft Word and Adobe Photoshop.

Did he say Photoshop?
Yes, Photoshop. The most exciting aspects of this new Stuffit is industry leading compression technology for images, the first time in history a third party compression product has been able to reduce the file size of JPEG images beyond their innate compression with absolutely no loss in image quality. First introduced in version 9 but now fully mature, Stuffit Deluxe 10.0’s proprietary new engine, Stuffit X, (also called the Atom Engine) preserves the resource fork of your file, allowing you to view thumbnails of your Stuffit compressed files, search their contents in Spotlight, and open them directly into Photoshop (with the included plug-in). You can now archive your Word and JPEG files and mail those archives directly from within those applications.

Stuffit is one of the most beloved and useful Macintosh applications of all time.
To this day, Stuffit remains the number-one shareware product in history. In 1988, developer Raymond Lau joined forces with a young Macintosh company called Aladdin Systems, and in June of 1990 they shipped a complete rewrite of the Stuffit software as a commercial product. In 1994, Aladdin changed its name to Allume as their family of products had long outgrown the original concept of the Aladdin Corporation. No matter how large and successful it became, the company never forgot their shareware roots. In 1992 DropStuff with Stuffit Expander was released: a free product that gave everybody the benefit of Stuffit technology.

Compression has increased across the board by 20 percent, the application is faster and the range of file types that can be compressed and the numbers of different security algorithms that can be applied to those archives increased, which can all be set in the advanced preferences section of the applications. JPEG image compression is the most important new feature. JPEGs are, of course, already compressed, but the new compression method decreases their file size by up to 30 percent. How do they do it? Allume calls the new compression algorithm “Method 8” and it basically removes half of the normal JPEG compression and replaces it with a better method. There is also a compression format specifically designed for text, called “Method 4”. These new compression technologies are also available to developers as part of the Stuffit X engine.

The new format provides enhanced security features too, including 512-bit encryption in the form of RC4 (Rivest Cipher 4), the most widely used stream cipher. The program also gives the choice of DES 64-bit, AES 256 bit, and Blowfish 448 bit encryption, a public domain standard. Archived files and images cannot be viewed by others on your hard drive or over the Internet. Password protection and encryption is available to both files and archives (including zip archives).

Stuffit Deluxe 10.0 also includes a host of new integrations with the Finder, especially useful for those running the new Tiger operating system. You can now search inside archived files using Spotlight, or use Apple’s new easy-to-use front end for Applescript, called Automator, to automate Deluxe. For example, Automator can visually set up a script to archive files in a given folder and then mail those archives to a series of email addresses, or back them up to CD or DVD. For the more adventurous automators out there, Stuffit Deluxe 10.0 also adds two new commands to the Mac OS X shell, allowing scripts to be written in virtually any programming language. For example, a Web master could write a Perl script that used the command line “stuff” or “unstuff” to manipulate her files without even using the Finder.

Files can even be compressed by simply changing their names in the Finder by simply add the “.sit” extension to the end of the file name. The file is instantly compressed. NO fuss, no muss. This simple renaming technique allows the creation of archives in several formats: .sitx, .sit, .tar and .zip. It also works backwards: an archive can be expanded by removing it’s extension.

The product suite contains all the applications and tools found in the full version of the product: backup CD’s can be made on schedule and with any specified files. Archive Assistant can limit back-ups to new or changed. Drop-boxes can be created to automate backups to a network iDisk. The new SEA Maker can create self-extracting archives for distribution, that include a custom splash screen with an image of your choice, text files, and control over where on a user’s computer your distribution will unpack. Other useful tools include a full delete application in the form of a drop panel — drag a file here and it is gone forever.

The Stuffit Deluxe 10.0 product suite has no serious competition and remains a well-supported and innovative product that delivers useful new features with almost every release. The improvements in version 10 are extraordinary: JPEG compression, a well thought out user interface, exemplary Finder integration with useful updates for Tiger. Those changes, along with a host of new tools make this backup, compression, and file transfer tool a must-get.

Product Stuffit Deluxe 10.0
Made By Allume < allume.com>
Price $79.99 digital download, +$10.95 for a disk. Upgrade: $29.99
Pros Industry Standard and leading compression, ability to compress JPEG Images, amazing finder integration, easy to use but fully featured for the power user.
Cons Doesn’t make the coffee