Help! Unix guru, please (re: uncompressing Jaynes book)

Bill Hamilton (hamilton@predator.cs.gmr.com)
Fri, 8 Sep 1995 16:54:06 -0500

I tried to download the postscript version of Jaynes' book. Mac Mosaic and
Mac Netscape both failed. Netscape said it couldn't uncompress the file
because a helper app was missing. Being too lazy to go looking for the
helper application I tried XMosaic on a unix system and got a similar
result -- it couldn't uncompress the file and threw it away. Finally I
ftp'd the file to a unix system. The filename is book.ps.tar.gz. I think
Xmosaic invoked uncompress and uncompress choked. When I tried to use
uncompress it insisted on appending .Z to the filename I gave it, and of
course it couldn't find it. I suspect it wouldn't have worked anyway.

Anyway:

Does the .gz extension mean I need a different uncompress than the standard
uncompress?

Does the filename suggest that after I uncompress I'll get a tar file, from
which I will then extract the postscript?

Not that I'm in a big hurry to dive into the book right now (I'm still
chewing away at Kauffman and also finishing up Reason in the Balance (I
recommend it, BTW)) But eventually I'd like to take a look at it.

Any help/advice would be very much appreciated.

Bill Hamilton | Vehicle Systems Research
GM R&D Center | Warren, MI 48090-9055
810 986 1474 (voice) | 810 986 3003 (FAX)