TimesTwo

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On: 2019-01-08 13:55:27
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On: 2023-07-19 13:03:47
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What is TimesTwo?

TimesTwo is a disk compression software layer (driver) for early Mac OS.


Version 2.0 of Golden Triangle’s automatic disk-compression utility TimesTwo is a significant improvement over the original product. TimesTwo promises to double the apparent disk space available on a disk or partition by transparently compressing the data at the diskdriver level rather than as an addition to the Mac Operating System.

The product ships with a copy-protected master disk and well-written installation instructions. To install the program, you simply boot from the TimesTwo installation master disk and select a hard disk or partition to convert to a TimesTwo disk. The installer first runs diagnostics to ensure that your disk and SCSI connections are reliable and then compresses all data on the drive. When you next reboot, the Finder shows the new size of your hard disk as being about twice its original capacity. You then use the disk as you normally would — TimesTwo transparently operates the compressed volume and, according to the vendor, is fully compatible with all software, including disk-utility programs such as Norton Disk Doctor. In my tests, over the course of two months running TimesTwo on a Centris 650, I experienced no problems, even while using myriad utilities and system software tools. All files appear at normal size, even though they actually consume considerably less disk space. Because the TimesTwo driver is contained on the hard disk (and is not part of the System Folder), you can use a TimesTwo disk (or removable cartridge) on another Mac without first installing any special extensions or utilities.

The original incarnation of TimesTwo suffered from several shortcomings: a copy-protected master disk, no support for disk partitions, the need for special crash-recovery steps, inaccurate disk space readings, and ungraceful frill-disk handling. The new version addresses each of these problems, and provides a few new features in the bargain. You can now make backup copies of the master disk, although the product is still copy-protected. TimesTwo now also works with disk partitions, no longer requires special crash-recovery procedures, gives more accurate disk-space reports, and issues “disk full” messages when a disk fills up. New features include MagicBoot, which sets up an emergency boot area on any volume for accessing a corrupted hard disk, and Optimize, which reorganizes files for improved performance.

The overall performance of the new version is similar to that of the original: it moderately increases the time needed for such tasks as copying files, launching applications, and saving data. Slower Macs (those with a 68000 or 68020) still take about twice as long for most operations under TimesTwo; faster Macs (68030 and up) slow by 15 to 25 percent. The faster the CPU, the more quickly TimesTwo’s compression algorithm runs. All currently shipping Macs have 68030 or better processors, and thus suffer little loss of performance under TimesTwo.

Data-compression efficiency varies with the type of data, no matter what product you use. TimesTwo achieved about a 1.8:1 space increase with an average mix of applications and data files.

Golden Triangle has made good on its promise to fix TimesTwo’s problems and has added features that most users will find useful. The new version is as transparent and robust as any driver-level compressor. It’s definitely ready for prime time.

Beckman, Mel. (March 1994). TimesTwo 2.0. Macworld. (pg. 72).


Download TimesTwo for Mac

(818.83 KiB / 838.48 KB)
TimesTwo v1.0 bootable (System 6.0.8) floppy disk / DSK image
8 / 2019-01-08 / 13e4b37cf0f3f4c87c6fece950d163b25f45775c / /
(893.19 KiB / 914.63 KB)
/ Zipped
1 / 2021-11-12 / a7a1811d86d3a99bfddf032cccadab4f467c1fe2 / /
(175.65 KiB / 179.86 KB)
/ compressed w/ Stuffit
1 / 2021-11-12 / c64d750f4f5a422086c0586f56b3988729541611 / /


Architecture


Motorola 68K



System Requirements

From Mac OS 6.0 up to Mac OS 7.6





Compatibility notes

Architecture: 68K

Mac OS 6.x - Mac OS 7.x

 


Emulating this? It could probably run under: Basilisk II





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