Last week, Smith Micro released StuffIt Deluxe 2011 Mac (US $50 or US $30 for upgrade), a new version of the file compression software Mac OS X, which now includes a licences for the Windows version. StuffIt Deluxe 2011 adds new features that automate the transfer and compression of files. It includes a new user interface that features StuffIt Destinations, a drag-and-drop floating toolbar application designed to streamline workflow and securely transfer files with a drag and drop. The new version is also optimized for 64-bit mode and improves compression of the StuffIt X format. As with previous versions, StuffIt Deluxe 2011 also compresses in many other formats, and can provide lossless compression of PNG, TIFF and other 24 bit image formats, as well as audio and PDF. StuffIt Deluxe 2011 also acts as a client for Smith Micro's cloud-based file transfer service for very large files.

StuffIt Deluxe 2011 for Mac includes an installer for StuffIt Deluxe for Windows and a unique, 3-seat "One Source" license model that allows the user to mix and match up to three installations of the Mac and Windows version.

StuffIt Destinations helps users transfer videos, presentations and other large files from one location to another using a file compression workflow. A click in the toolbar, or dragging a file, can backup files to a DVD or deliver a project to a customer's FTP server, iDisk, or other network destinations. File compression is part off the workflow. Destinations can also send an email notification to a recipient once the task is complete. StuffIt Destinations integrates with the Mac address book, allowing users to add recipients to a file upload request.

The company said that users with 8GB of installed RAM will see performance gains in creating compressed archives.

For secure transfer of large files up to 2GB, StuffIt Destinations can act as a client for SendStuffNow, Smith Micro's cloud-based file transfer service, which is available via subscription. Recipients automatically receive an email message containing URL to download the shared file. Recipients do not need a SendStuffNow account or any special software installed. StuffIt Deluxe customers receive a SendStuffNow account for three months, ($30 for three months after that). Users can also access the service with a free mobile app for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android devices.

Other features that were added in StuffIt Deluxe 2010 include:

• The ability to create disk .dmg images.
• Plug-In Support for compressing photos in iPhoto and Aperture. Image compression is also improved in StuffIT Deluxe 2010. Lossless compression of JPG, PNG, TIFF, PDF, and other 24-bit image formats
• Improved Audio Compression - StuffIt Deluxe 2010 introduces optimized compression of WAV audio files, used in Windows audio applications.

StuffIt also can decompress other Windows, Mac, and Unix compression formats, such as zip.