[lug] [OT] archive formats

[Daniel Webb]

I was originally planning on using zip archives for a cross-platform backup
system but discovered zip doesn't allow the same filename twice in an archive
(even in different directories).  There's nothing about this in the zip man
page.

So I was considering using tar, but apparently Windows XP doesn't even know
what tar is (the oh so helpful "Microsoft Windows File Associations" web page
says "Windows does not recognize this file type").  

Is there such a thing as an archive format that is recognized without
additional software on most installs of Windows, Linux, and Mac?

P.S. For those who don't know, VMWare is now giving away their basic product
for free (beer, not speech).  Normally I don't use non-free software, but in
this case it is so nice I couldn't resist.  If you have to test Windows
compatability but don't want to soil your hard drive with a Windows install
and dual-boot, it is very nice.