archive manager unable to open pdf files

[AM_SOS]

hi all,
surprisingly come across this file that the ubuntu archive manager is simply unable to unpack.
these are some articles that i am trying to download.
strangely i have never heard of the format and the page asks me to download "stuffit expander" to allow me to view the pdf files.
however when i download the file saving it on the desktop, and try to open it, archive manager is simply unable to do so!
this is the title of the downloaded file -
VOL13_NO3_4.sit
and its 1.3 MB
and i am as of now unable to open it in any way.
please suggest a way out,
thanks!

[Barriehie]

From what I can find from search engines that archive type isn't supported on *nix type machines.

http://www.file-extension.com/files/SIT/

http://www.fileinfo.com/extension/sit

[AM_SOS]

hi,
not sure what all these technical terms mean.
so can i or can i not open this package on ubuntu ?
and if not then can i do it on XP ?
thanks

[Barriehie]

hi,
not sure what all these technical terms mean.
so can i or can i not open this package on ubuntu ?
and if not then can i do it on XP ?
thanks

According to the links provided earlier you won't be able to open them on Ubuntu. Don't know about XP, no windows here... :)

[AM_SOS]

awww ... !
not fair. this would seem to be a rather deliberate way of keeping out people with OS other than windows.
anyway, guess it will run on windows given that if it doesnt it no one will read the articles !!
thanks

[Barriehie]

awww ... !
not fair. this would seem to be a rather deliberate way of keeping out people with OS other than windows.
anyway, guess it will run on windows given that if it doesnt it no one will read the articles !!
thanks

I think that file type is some sort of standard for Mac's, or was.

[coffeecat]

I think that file type is some sort of standard for Mac's, or was.

I believe 'was' is the operative word here. As far as I can make out Stuffit compressed files are somewhat obsolete in MacOS where they were originally used.

@AM_SOS, since this is an outdated compression protocol I would guess the articles could be fairly out-of-date as well. Do you have a friend with a Mac who could unstuff them for you? Preferably an old Mac. :wink:

[AM_SOS]

hey thanks all !
well i think you are right. i need to find out someone who has an old mac. and with everyone in my cohort having bought the new pros its going to be a little difficult.
btw, here's the link to the journal which i was trying to access -

http://www.ctheory.net/library/journal.asp?journalid=31

i wanted this article by douglas kellner on david cronenberg's movie Crash. and i am pretty surprised as to why a journal would adopt a defunct file format !
anyway, thanks!

[coffeecat]

i need to find out someone who has an old mac. and with everyone in my cohort having bought the new pros its going to be a little difficult.

I was joking about the 'old' bit. :wink: A quick google shows that Stuffit Expander is still available for download for Macs. The link I found offers a version to work on MacOS 10.5 or higher, so it *should* work on your friends' 10.6 Snow Leopard machines. According to this link, although it is 'free' as in beer (but not as in freedom), there are some strings attached. Here:

http://www.stuffit.com/mac-expander.html

You might find a better download source.

You might also want to challenge that library as to why they are using a restrictive proprietary compression protocol. Although (I believe) zip started out as a proprietary Windows method, it's near-universal these days. They should be using zip or something everyone can use without having to download decompression apps.

[AM_SOS]

thanks guys,
though its strange why they would use proprietary stuff given that this is an open journal meant for free circulation!