I've been trying out a new ZIP utility called AlphaZIP over the past few
days. In a world where basic ZIP file handling is built into many operating systems and products like
WinZip have reached a high level of maturity and integration with the OS, do we
really need another ZIP utility?
The developer community seems to think so. A recent check at a number of download sites like
Tucows and Major Geeks showed dozens of
choices. There are any number of twists that these intrepid developers have come up with to try to break out from the
pack including different takes on the user interface and automation and shell integration features.
I've been a satisfied WinZip user for years. It's a fine program, reasonably priced, that does what it's been designed
to do. So why would I even consider using a different application? The answer is: I hate context switching. I hate it.
I feel like something breaks when I have to switch to a different application environment just to perform a routine
maintenance activity. I want to stay where I am and just get the task done.
This is why I use NewsGator for aggregating and reading my RSS feeds. I don't
have to leave Outlook to do it. I can read all that's new, have it indexed, and search across the RSS posts I've saved
in the environment I have open and active all day long.
AlphaZIP delivers that same integration into
the Windows desktop and Explorer. Sure, there's a context (right-click) menu, just like WinZip and others offer. This
program goes quite a bit further in making itself a part of the Windows desktop. The most essential way AlphaZIP
accomplishes this is by using the standard Windows desktop user interface for creating, adding to, and extracting from
ZIP files. An AlphaZIP archive looks pretty much identical to a standard Windows folder or Explorer window except that
it adds a few ZIP-related features like the task panel pictured here. The File menu in these archive windows take on an
archive-focused flavor as well.
Of course, AlphaZIP does all the requisite tasks you'd expect from an archiving and compression tool. It supports a long list of file formats, can create self-extracting archives, can test and verify the integrity of archive files, can convert from one compressed file format to another, and other standard features in this genre. One little extra I enjoy is the ability AlphaZIP provides to create a tar.gz file with one click. This is a great format for exchanging files with Mac OS X and UNIX users and I do this pretty frequently. the "tar" portion of this type of file is really just a way to gather all of the files together. The "gz" refers to GZip - an cross-platform compressed file format. AlphaZIP generates a tar.gz file with one click.
So, do you need this utility? Only you can decide. AlphaZIP can be evaluated for 10 days and a license costs $29.95 (that's $0.95 more than WinZip for those keeping score). If the idea of context switching is as irritating for you as it is for me, you may find this to be a great solution for working with compressed archives. There are certainly less expensive solutions (as in free) available but nothing I've seen offers the degree of transparency and integration AlphaZIP delivers.
1. Marc, I was invited to review this software as well. However, I asked myself the same question, "Does the world really need another ZIP program?"
Posted at 6:20AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Michael Hyatt