Windows XP has a built-in feature called
Compressed Folders that lets you work with ZIP files such as those created by
the $29 WinZip or similar programs.
However, unlike WinZip, if you attempt to open a file located inside a compressed folder,
Windows will open it as read-only. To get read-write access, you must drag the
file from the compressed folder into a "normal" folder (such as the
Desktop).
The way this came up is that I sent a customer an Access mdb (zipped) in an email,
and when they received it (on their new Win XP machine sans WinZip) they simply
double-clicked on the Zip attachment, then double-clicked on the mdb file - and
found that it was read only.