IMHO, windows does have its place. I like M$ only from the standpoint that I have continued to make money (a lot of it) on administering and now training on their products.
I too love MacOS X (any flavor) but before the pretty Aqua interface there was FreeBSD which I have long been a fan. I think it is great the Apple has increased the userbase of Macintosh and thereby FreeBSD (their amped version is known as Darwin, but alas it is still the kernel of FreeBSD).
As I go forward, I don't personally like M$ and I am aware of options that will mean not having to use their products, but I find myself in catch 22... As a professional who does programming and web development, I find that Macromedia is fast doing what M$ has done and getting to be as influencial in the web arena.
Anyhow, the original question was about a .zip file utility for windows 9x, I would be on the WinRar bandwagon there, it has been very good to me. I do believe in supporting shareware/freeware applications and believe Open Source is the future of computers, so I am wiening myself off of all MS products and deciding on what to do about my personal system. First is the Macintosh route... I may do that, although I do not want to spend so much scratch on a single system. Fortunately, my contracts normally provide a windows box that I can use for my professional side, so the risk of removing M$ from my personal system is becoming not a problem.
That is fully my opinion, and I think everyone has to decide for themselves. What is pushing me to make this change now is the stuff M$ has done for the last 3 years starting with this activation thing. Now with the impending doom of the SP2 fix, it is time to move on.
Take care,
Mike Needham
Shawnee, KS USA
