Here is the latest version of Pack-Ice (2.40). There have only been little changes: - The files that are packed executable are now 6 bytes smaller. Wow. Isn't that great. This might save up to 1 kB on your disk. If the file was 1030 bytes before and now it is 1024, then you gained 1kB of disk space... - The program is compatible to more programs. Try the programs that never worked when they were packed with any packer. It might work now. (No promises made...) - You can tell the program what to do with use of the command line. If you have the new TT or whatever Tos, then you can drag all executable files on Pack-Ice and they will be packed. I can't try this myself, because I have a smelly old 1040 with old TOS. Hey! My ST is not THAT bad. It is one of the few limited machines on which Nick of TCB has coded. I even have a document to prove that! Now, isn't that a tremendous gain of value? OK, yes. Still the above mentioned feature does not work on my ST. Anyway, you can install a certain extension to be packed by the packer. You can find out how this is done if you look through your Atari ST owners manual where you can also find out how to format disks and to copy disks only after you formatted them and the like. - Chaos Inc. (and all others how need such a thing) can now type a command line that has a "$" in the beginning, followed by those characters that are equivalent to the keypresses made when using the packer. Example "$1yFUCK_YOU.PI1" will pack the file FUCK_YOU.PI1 as picture file. - You can also select the path using the text input!!! You don't need to use the alert boxes. This will also work with correct paths. I finally had the guts to program this kind of shit. - This is the first new Pack-Ice version after a break of about half a year. But now, I got some motivation from other people who (I couldn't believe it) ARE still interested in new versions.... So, here is the first one. I didn't take much time to do this one, but wait what comes next. I probably would have done another version if not that beta test version had spread out without me wanting it. But after everybody had it, I didn't feel too much like making a newer version. Anyway, it did not happen on purpose, so there is nobody to blame. Superior are (in alphabetical order): Axe, Jabba, Jinx, Wanderer. Delight or FOF no longer exist since we founded that new group. Enough for this read_me file. This text will restart from the beginning now. WRAP..... ~-~-~-~-~-~ Axe/Superior ~-~-~-~-~-~ Note of the "ST NEWS" editorial staff: The presence of this packer was not SPECIFICALLY mentioned in the article about packing algorithms, but here it is anyway. This is a world exclusive thing, actually, as this is the latest version of the packer that's BEST. The sources are probably only useful to coders. You can usually pack executable files without a problem, but make a backup in case you're not sure 'cause the orginal file is overwitten by the packed one. If you decide to pack DATA files or PICTURES that are supposed to be loaded by a specific program, this specific program has to take care of all the depacking - it won't work if you will compress a game data file, for example, without the game actually de-compressing the datafile itself. This means that the sources are of interest most to your own programs that use packed stuff. If you're not a coder, just use it to pack your executable files. It should save a lot of space. All documents on this "ST NEWS" disk were compressed by Pack Ice (version 2.34). 1032 Kb of text were compressed to 550 Kb, assuring that this "ST NEWS" features more than any issue before! Have fun packing. Bye. Oh yeah. "ST NEWS" is the hottest ST disk mag. In case this packer gets spread separately from the rest of the "ST NEWS" issue it belonged to, you might want to get all of it. This can be done by sending a disk plus 3 International Reply Coupons (add 2 IRC's if you live outside Europe) to the address below. Add a note that you want "ST NEWS" Volume 6 Issue 2. The address: ST NEWS, Richard Karsmakers, Looplantsoen 50, NL- 3523 GV, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Disks sent without IRC's will be accepted as friendly donations and will not be returned!