I do agree with this, the decompression is definitely slower then WinRAR. In my case though I can deal with the slow extractions because of my horrible internet speeds for downloads. So I tend to prefer seeing .7z files than .rar heh.

Hopefully some time soon someone will create a better archive format that is both fast and high-compressed.

Present PCs have enough power to use 7z. there is just some seconds diference. but for attachments and sending via email 7z is better.

Personally I have used WinRAR from day one archive speed and compression no complaints.... I guess it also helps when you good speed from you isp.

Well 7z is free and also offers password encryption for example. Never had problems with it so far. As for Zip I can only recommend it compared to WinZip.