OS 9 doesn't recognize .bin file

Question

Hello All:
I downloaded iTunes for my friend as described in this article:
Hi -
You can download iTunes 2.0.4 from this Apple KBase article -
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120073
but my friend's Mac won't recognize the .bin file. How do I get it to recognize this file type, or is this really another problem?
Thanks!
Bob

Answer 1

Hello Don,
The only sensible solution in this case, as you have already pointed out, would be to obtain an appropriate Mac OS 9 install CD; both for StuffIt Expander and in order to have a bootable disc at hand.
If an install CD is not yet available, and Bob would like to try other ways to get StuffIt Expander in the meantime, here are some additional comments:
There is a Stuffit archive format, .sea, which can be decompressed without using Stuffit Expander. ".sea" stands for "Self-Extracting Archive" - the archive itself contains sufficient program code that it will run and decompress itself when double-clicked. I suspect that the reason that format is not used for downloads is that it acts like a program (if you do a Get Info on one it will be reported as being an application program) - and so probably has vulnerable codes.
Yes, that is the way I see it, too. Since a PC, normally, cannot handle the resource fork of the file, the "clickability" of the .sea would get lost without a protective outer "shell" of MacBinary (.bin) or BinHex (.hqx) encoding. You would not be able to launch the built-in unpacking program of an unprotected .sea file, but it should be OK to regain the data portion by dragging the file onto a StuffIt Expander program icon (or by opening it from within StuffIt Expander). Not very useful for downloading StuffIt Expander itself, that is, if one does not have StuffIt Expander.
For older Macs, with a built in floppy drive, I usually recommend getting a ready-to-use version of StuffIt Expander for Macintosh via a PC . This is how it works: Begin by downloading the MACDISK.EXE file here onto the PC. Prepare an empty 1.44 MB PC-formatted diskette through the FORMAT A: command in DOS or the "full" formatting option under Windows. Launch the MACDISK.EXE program on the PC. Follow the instructions on screen. The result will be a Mac-formatted floppy, complete with a StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 installer. Once installed, in a suitable environment, the 4.0.1 version can be used to decode many files. If a newer StuffIt Expander version (e.g. 5.5) is needed to handle certain decompressions, a download from ftp://ftp.allume.com/pub/archive/mac/StuffIt_Expander should now not be too difficult.
With a more modern Mac, without a built-in floppy drive, the situation gets more complicated. Even with access to an external USB floppy drive, one can not assume that the 4.0.1 installer will run on the new machine (and if it does, the 4.0.1 program may not).
There are PC utilities for Mac disks (an old freeware application called HFVExplorer could once be found via a Google search) which can internally process MacBinary and/or BinHex files while placing the decoded result on a plain Mac-formatted 1.44 MB floppy. This means that one can download a .bin or .hqx StuffIt Expander program file as it is (for instance, directly from the aforementioned ftp site) onto a PC (without attempting to decode or decompress in a PC file system surrounding), and then decode it while in transit to the Mac floppy. With a USB floppy drive at the Mac end, this will improve the chances to get a properly working version of StuffIt Expander.
Some web browsers and certain email programs may be capable of directly decoding at least BinHex files. This would per se make it possible to download .hqx files from the above site, or having .hqx files sent by a friend. However, without a functioning Internet connection that would not be of any use in this very case.
Another possibility might include decoding encoded files sent by a terminal emulation application over the telephone lines, provided that a program of a corresponding type is installed at the receiving end.
Regards,
Jan