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by ToddWBurgess 971 days ago
Anyone here old enough to remember from the BBS days when Phil Katz was embroiled in a legal dispute over his program PKARC and the ARC compression file format? At the time it was cast as a David and Goliath story (with Phil being David) when it was really just two small home based software developers fighting it out.

Long story short, Phil lost the arc dispute which is why I assume he moved onto the ZIP format. In the end, Phil Katz was taken from us too soon because his personal demons got the better of him.
2 comments
justin66 971 days ago
This dispute was the subject of the last chapter of Jason Scott’s BBS documentary. The whole thing is worth watching, of course.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uNXCd2EATSo&list=PL7nj3G6Jpv2G...

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xxs 971 days ago
Sure, I had a talk recently where I mentioned P.K. and opening the ZIP which made it the default compression format. And zip became a proper noun (aside zoning improvement plant, version, that's it)

>In the end, Phil Katz was taken...

Indeed, 37 -- it's almost a cautionary tale, nowadays.

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