Is Zip coming undone? | CNET News.com

Oh how annoying! PKWare, based in Wisconsin, have released a new version of their compression utility PKZip. Unfortunately "the new version and a subsequent update include advanced security features that--for now--are exclusive to PKWare."

This would be ok weren't they still using the .zip extension!

WinZip, the company behind the most popular Zip utility, have now released a new version of their software. "The WinZip update includes similar security extensions, but they're based on different encryption keys that are incompatible with PKWare's format."

The problem is that PKZip won't give WinZip access to its encryption scheme (WinZip gives other developers access to their scheme).

In other words, incompability and confussion is on the horizon for .zip. The solution: either replace .zip with another extension to indicate the enhanced security (and incompability) or start sharing some crucial encryption information.

Darryl Lovato at Aladdin Systems nails it when he says " "They've broken the only thing Zip still had going for it, which was ultimate compatibility".

It'll be interesting to see how all of this unfolds.

In the article on CNET News Amy Wohl, an independent tech analyst, claims that the .zip format might be obsolotete because of the demise of floppy disks. "Wohl said that much of the value of the Zip format had rested on the ability to shrink files so they could fit on a floppy disk. With recordable CD disks and USB (universal serial bus) drives close to rendering floppies obsolete, "a lot of the reason for using .zip...has sort of evaporated".

I disagree. I'd say that other uses for Zip have long since overtaken its original use. Zip-ing files before e-mailing them is crucial when the recepient has a small-ish mailbox. Zip-ing is also widely used when offering files for downloads from websites. Plus, it's a great way to protect a file from getting corrupted in transit.

Main Stream Extreme

The concept of Extreme Programming, or XP, has been a factor in the world of programming for a few years. In the September issue of Wired, Martha Baer takes a look at XP and how it is moving from the fringes in to the main stream. And what the non-devoted have to say about it all.

I also like the May 2002 Salon piece on XP.

More on XP (both for and against):
Extreme Programming: A gentle introduction
Yahoo! Groups ; extreprogramming
Martin Fowler on XP
Extreme Programming explained: What we really think of XP.