Zip Files, Attachments and Download Times

[David M]

Why do we still use Zip Files? They seem like an unnecessary PITA these days. Or are they still useful? Are there people still using 56k modems?

Why do some people create attachments that have minuscule file sizes?...like a couple of sentences. Wouldn't it be easier to put the content in the body of the email? Are there people who have a phobia to pushing the Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V keys?

Why are file download times rough estimates at best? Isn't this much the same as having a speedometer that tells you that you are traveling somewhere between 30 and 70 MPH? Why bother at all?

[EzyStvy]

Why do we still use Zip Files? They seem like an unnecessary PITA these days. Or are they still useful? Are there people still using 56k modems?

Yes. And then there's the part where zip files will pass through security a "little" better then exe files.

Why do some people create attachments that have minuscule file sizes?...like a couple of sentences. Wouldn't it be easier to put the content in the body of the email?You'd have to ask the person making the attachment.

Why are file download times rough estimates at best? Isn't this much the same as having a speedometer that tells you that you are traveling somewhere between 30 and 70 MPH? Why bother at all?

No two computers/ISP/download locations are the same.

[HAL9000]

Zip files used to be handy in the past when storage media was small and as you mentioned, transfer rates were very slow.... I think now it's more for a situation where there is more than just an install file, like an install file plus 20 directories each with 100 files in it... it crams it all into one downloadable and transferrable file. You wouldn't like it much in that scenario if you went to download a program and received a page asking you to do 2001 separate downloads. BTW, yes, some people are still using 56K modems in rural areas or where high speed is just not available or affordable.

Totally agree on your second point.

Download times are estimates because data flow over the internet isn't always a constant speed. Your analogy of a spedometer isn't quite right. A spedometer gives you the speed now... in the same manner that as you're downloading, you see the speed as of that moment. If I were to travel to your city, my travel time is an estimate based on travel speeds of the roads I am on... it doesn't take into account traffic, detours, poor road/driving conditions etc.... data travelling from one computer to the next over the internet faces similar problems.

[Force Flow]

I still use zips for getting files past spam filters that would otherwise ordinarily be stripped from the email, and for things that are more than a handful of files.

Do I use zip files for filesize considerations? Nope. Purely intended as a standardized container format.

[juppy]

Originally Posted by HAL9000 BTW, yes, some people are still using 56K modems in rural areas or where high speed is just not available or affordable.

*waves both hands in the air and jumps up and down*
That's me!

Not only that, David M, but most of us still having to use 56k dialup aren't even getting *THAT* much speed. Mine usually connects at around 21 to 24k. Wheee!
And it gets really frustrating when the rest of the world seems to move on without you because there's this idea going around that "everybody has broadband". So when updates come out and they say "It's only a 10 Meg download....so small!!!"....I'm thinking "Yeah, small for you....that's gonna take me an hour and 20 minutes!".

[edfair]

For #2, attachments are more compact to save on the receiving end and it is easier to direct them to the proper storage location.