QWK is an offline mail-reading format that has long been standard in the DOS world. Freddie is a program that will read this format, enabling you to read and respond to mail offline.
In order to use Freddie, the QWK packet sent by a BBS first must be decompressed. In the interests of saving space, Freddie does not come with a utility that will do this. However, this file contains information on where you can get a decompression program.
The most common format for compression of QWK packets is Zip, which the the PC equivalent of StuffIt. On the Macintosh, the foremost utility for zipping and unzipping files is ZipIt™ by Tommy Brown. ZipIt sports a very easy-to-use interface and is the only utility on the Mac that will let you compress as well as decompress Zip files. What’s more, Freddie will work with ZipIt automatically under System 7 to automate the decompression procedure.
ZipIt is available on CompuServe, America Online, GEnie, the Internet, and on Not Even Odd in New York (718-997-1189, 14.4 kbps). It is also FREQable from NEO (magic name “ZipIt”) and is quite probably available on a BBS near you.
ZipIt is normally $10 shareware. However, all Freddie users can register it for half-price ($5). Simply follow the instructions for registration in the ZipIt package, but be sure to mention that you are a Freddie user. If you want to register both Freddie and ZipIt at the same time, send me a ZipIt registration form along with the Freddie registration form and a check for $20 ($25 outside the U.S.) to cover both licensing fees.
