File Archiving..??

[infinite-loop]

What's the story with File Archiving..?? I have a folder containing data that is too big to burn to a CD, so I thought I would archive it and then burn the archived file to CD instead. The original is 728mb but the Archived folder is 715mb..not much of a saving there..and still too big to burn to CD..!! Any insight on this would be much appreciated..

 

[fryke]

Apple's zip-archiving does not really save much space. Then again, it always depends on what kind of files you're trying to archive. JPEGs, for example, simply _are_ already compressed pretty good, and any old compressing scheme can't squeeze out much more. Same goes for MPEG-files of any variant etc.
But if you want to try: StuffIt Deluxe is a really good package for such stuff.

If those are not for you, you simply have to make _two_ folders and burn two CDs.

 

[adambyte]

Or, alternatively, burn a data DVD..... but, assuming you don't have a Superdrive, you could find a friend who has a Superdrive on their computer and transfer the files from your computer to theirs via FireWire Target Disk Mode, which allows your Mac to act as a "dumb" hard disk you can plug into another computer.

 

[infinite-loop]

I do have a Superdrive but it seemed a bit of a waste to burn a Data DVD when I was SO close to managing to fit it onto a CD..! I have a G5 Dual-Core 2ghz & a G4/1.2 iBook so FireWire Target Disk is something I use often for file transfer/backup. I think you're right enough though..burning a Data DVD seems my only option..!!

 

[Mikuro]

Yeah. I wouldn't even bother with other compression methods like StuffIt. It's pretty much the same story with them: for already-compressed items like JPEGs, mp3s or most video, it's just a waste of time. Compression is great for things like text and applications, but not for multimedia.