What do I do with these files ?

[dayloon]

I've downloaded a couple of freeware progs from a newsgroup and have NO IDEA what i'm supposed to do with them. Perhaps somebody can enlighten me on how to extract the files. The files names are below :

O2SMS.P01.BIN
O2SMS.P02.BIN
O2SMS.P03.BIN
O2SMS.PAR.BIN
O2SMS.SIT.1.BIN
O2SMS.SIT.2.BIN
O2SMS.SIT.3.BIN

The other files are :

VODA.001.BIN
VODA.002.BIN
VODA.003.BIN
VODA.PAR2.BIN (plus some other par2 files)

The final set of files have got .hfs.bin extensions.

I haven't got my mac yet, should be here on monday but I just wondered if somebody could help me out here.

Many Thanks !!

 

[tombo]

Not a good idea to d/l files where you don't know what they do. Especially if they're from a newsgroup.
Ask around. Newsgroups can get spammed with cr@p.

But .bin is a compression extension. Your mac will pick that right up, and they might even have a 'stuffit' logo on them as their picture/icon.

You should be able to double click them and they'll unstuff.

As for the next bit, the PAR, these are compressed yet again. I don't know about Panther or Tiger, but I'm on Jaguar and I had to download a program to 'unPAR' such files, as I don't think Stuffit can.

Seriously, ask in the newsgroup, though.

 

[tech4all]

I've downloaded a couple of freeware progs from a newsgroup and have NO IDEA what i'm supposed to do with them.

Curious. If you didn't know what to do with the downloaded programs, just why did you download them in the first place?

 

[CanadaRAM]

Ditch those files and if you need to install some shareware or freeware, get it from a reputable source like http://www.versiontracker.com

 

[mkrishnan]

Well, though, you will probably occasionally see stuff-it format compressed files from reputable sources. If your incoming computer is new, then it will have Tiger pre-installed and may not have stuffit expander or anything of the like. In which case, you will probably eventually need to download it from here: http://www.stuffit.com/mac/expander/

As far as I have seen, this is pretty much the only compression-related utility most mac users need (functionality for zip files, à la WinZip, is built in).

 

[dotdotdot]

I think he means he doesnt know what to do with the file TYPES, not the files... besides, newsgroups are not FREEWARE files, they are WAREZ and illegal files. ANYWAY...

As mentioned, download StuffIt Expander for free (if you have tiger) and extract...

 

[Cybernanga]

The files that start with O2SMS are most likely something to do with the UK Cellphone Provider that goes by the name of "O2" The VODA files must be something to do with VODOFONE, an other UK mobile network.

Why were you downloading these files if you don't know what they are, or were you asking how to open them?

 

[dayloon]

Please dont jump to conclusions here people. I am fully aware that newsgroups are full of illegal warez but these files are not cracked versions of licensed software. It just so happens that i've only found the software on a newsgroup. They are related to mobile sms.

Anyway, I meant that I dont know what to do with the files in terms of their extensions. I don't recogise "SIT.1.BIN", "hfs.bin" files.

Many Thanks.

 

[mkrishnan]

Anyway, I meant that I dont know what to do with the files in terms of their extensions. I don't recogise "SIT.1.BIN", "hfs.bin" files.

Mac software gets distributed in basically two ways. The first is a compressed file, much like in Windows. Nowadays, these compressed files are more and more commonly in ZIP, because OS X supports it natively, but because of tradition, SIT, BIN, HQX are all still used. StuffIt Expander (which I linked above) is the tool to use for all of these. Between stuffit and built-in tools, you should be able to handle any compressed file. Compressed files usually decompress into an installer program that you run, to install the application, or else decompress into a disk image, which is #2....

The other kind of distribution format is a disk image -- typically .dmg, and occasionally .iso. If you've dealt with Linux before, you've seen things like this; if you've only dealt with Windows, you might not have. Sometimes disk images also come inside compressed files, but when you get down to the .dmg or .iso file, if you double click it, it will "mount" itself on your computer as if it were another hard disk or CD player. Inside will occasionally be an installer program, which you double click and run. More often, there will just be an application icon and a couple of readme files. In this case, all you do is drag the application icon to the applications folder and it will copy over. Then you just eject the disk image.

It's all pretty self-explanatory, once you actually get your mac. The thing people run into trouble with most commonly is trying to run an application (other than an installer) from inside the disk image. You should avoid doing this, and instead copy it over. Running an installer from inside the image is fine though.

 

[zach]

I think he means he doesnt know what to do with the file TYPES, not the files... besides, newsgroups are not FREEWARE files, they are WAREZ and illegal files. ANYWAY...

As mentioned, download StuffIt Expander for free (if you have tiger) and extract...

That's not fair to say, I get lots of completely legal files off newsgroups. That's not saying there AREN'T warez there, but there also is quite a bit of legal stuff.

 

[Sogo]

I have a question for the poster. What computer did you use to download the files? I only ask because you say that you haven't gotten your mac yet. Which to me implies that you don't have a mac. you may have one, but i dont know.