why .bin & StuffIt?

Hello Mac users,

I'm quite new to Mac. Recently I donwloaded a ".bin" file
and was surprised that you need a non-free piece of additional
software to use it. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.) I was
referred to a program called StuffIt.

Is this a patented technology? Why do people use this particular
archive format while there are .zip, .gz, & bz2 archivers available
free of charge?

Cheers,
Ryo

.

Relevant Pages

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    ... > to the mac the bin ext disappeared. ... Mac file system e.g. an FTP server. ...
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  • Re: why .bin & StuffIt?
    ... > I'm quite new to Mac. ... Recently I donwloaded a ".bin" file ... You can get StuffIt Expander for free. ... > Is this a patented technology? ...
    (comp.sys.mac.misc)
  • Re: Getting files from a pc => mac => IIGS and/or a IIe
    ... Steve wrote: ... apple2.org.za and when I transferred that via the TransMac application to the mac the bin ext disappeared. ... I'm not sure what the significance of the bin extension means and why that worked when others didn't but oh well - it works. ...
    (comp.sys.apple2)
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