Zip, .sit, Stuffit = confusion!

[NeptuneMidheaven at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/27/2003 8:14:50 AM, HomeMac at lists.themacintoshguy.com 
writes:

<< Okay here's what I dug up. AOL users need to use Aladdin Expander for

> Windows, I'm guessing that's who you are sending to. AOL won't

> automatically open attachments. So have them save them to a folder then

> use the program to unstuff them. Here is the link.

> 

> http://www.stuffit.com/expander/winindex.html

>  >>

Hi,
I am having major confusion over just this kind of stuff.  I have a new PC 
with WinXP and would like to send pics from my digital camera (which only 
works with the MAC) over to my PC.
I downloaded Stuffit Expander for Windows to the PC.  I thought it was free; 
however, after a month went by they wanted money to continue the right to use 
it.  In the meantime I think I had used it exactly once.
Then I read elsewhere that the Expander was definitely free & 'here is the 
link'.  Well, I trashed the other version and have the "new" download on the 
PC but have not installed it yet.  Sigh, it looks just like the other version 
(7.0??) and I KNOW I'm going to have the same trouble with it after a month.
How can they advertize something as totally free forever and then pull this 
garbage??
I don't want the other things this program has, only the Expander.
I also have a program, "Conversions Plus" which is apparently the PC 
equivalent of MacLinkPlus for the MAC.  It needs to have a compression 
program to make it work - it does not include Stuffit so you need to have a 
version on your machine.
I don't  know if it would work with Winzip or not - all of this is new to me; 
this is my first PC.  I want eventually to move a lot of stuff from my older 
IMAC over to the PC.
I haven't done much experimenting yet; I did try to sent a .sit file of 
pictures over to the PC via AOL email and it could not open it.  Individually 
yes, but not as a .sit file.
--- Maybe I need a zip program for the MAC (to send files to the PC???)
Will the above link take me to that??  At the moment I can't even get to the 
website to check...I think, though, this the above link is the same one I 
used to download what I already have on the PC.  Sigh, I would love to just 
stay with the MAC but in my circumstances its not possible.  I'm running OS 
9.0.
Any suggestions welcomed because I'm really confused here.
Val