Did Unisys even make the GIF format? I've never heard of that before.
Who even is Unisys?

> From: David Fontaine <dav### [at] faricynet>
> Newsgroups: 
> povray.general,povray.macintosh,povray.unofficial.patches,povray.windows
> Date: Wed, 07 Jun 2000 16:51:26 -0500
> Subject: Re: Announce: MegaPov 0.5a available.
> 
> Andrea Ryan wrote:
> 
>> The banner on top of that Unisys page is a gif image.  If Unisys has not
>> licensed itself, it will have to sue itself!  ;)
> 
> What's funny is it says, "We eat, sleep and drink this stuff" and then there's
> pages and pages of legal issues and licensing info... yeah, they eat, sleep
> and
> drink that all right.
> 
> --
> David Fontaine     <dav### [at] faricynet>     ICQ 55354965
> Please visit my website: http://www.faricy.net/~davidf/
> 
>

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David wrote:
 
> Did Unisys even make the GIF format?

CompuServe made the GIF format, using an algorithm that they did not
realize had been patented by a company that had subsequently been
purchased by Unisys.  Had CompuServe known the algorithm was encumbered
by a patent, they probably would have chosen a different algorithm.

-Mark Gordon

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In article <3938f254@news.povray.org>, Thorsten Froehlich
<tho### [at] trfde> wrote:

> In article <3938A752.3E308FEF@iol.it> , Alessandro Coppo <a.c### [at] iolit> 
> wrote:
> 
> > PNG is supported by rel 4 browsers (IE4 supports it, there is just a
> > problem:
> > you can add and IMG tag to a page but for unknown reasons drag-dropping the
> > PNG file is not supported, so many people think IE4 is not PNG aware).
> 
> This is only correct for IE 4 for Windows, IE 4 for Mac OS does not support
> it at all (but IE 5 does).
> 
> 
>      Thorsten

How about Netscape...?
  Anton

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In article <080620001739487380%a.r### [at] directa2000nl> , Anton Raves 
<a.r### [at] directa2000nl>  wrote:

>> This is only correct for IE 4 for Windows, IE 4 for Mac OS does not support
>> it at all (but IE 5 does).
>>
>>
>>      Thorsten
>
> How about Netscape...?

In some higher 4.0x (4.04?) or so minimal support is integrated, on the Mac,
and on all other platforms as well, I guess.


      Thorsten


____________________________________________________
Thorsten Froehlich, Duisburg, Germany
e-mail: tho### [at] trfde

Visit POV-Ray on the web: http://mac.povray.org

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> * fixed interface-related bugs (Windows version moved to 3.1g interface)

I still get lines of garbage in the message window, but the about box says
3.1g, could you have mixed up some files? Can anyone confirm this?

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Jetlag wrote:

> > * fixed interface-related bugs (Windows version moved to 3.1g interface)
>
> I still get lines of garbage in the message window, but the about box says
> 3.1g, could you have mixed up some files? Can anyone confirm this?

I only get the garbage using blue rock but not any of the other backgrounds
BTW I looked a MegaPOV.exe with a resource ripper & the blue rock bitmap has ~
4 lines of pixels where the blue is all the same colour and about 1/3 -1/2 the
way across the next line is also like this.
I also checked pvengine.exe & my home custom compile but neither had these
artifacts - So maybe Nathan should redownload the win3.1g src archive & make
sure the bitmap he compiles with is the correct one & has no artifacts.
BTW this still doesn't explain the colours I see - sometimes all one colour
(black/white/others), sometimes pinks, blue, grey & others - tiled pattern

Bye
Pabs

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I did like someone had suggested and updated Internet Explorer to the latest
non-beta version and haven't seen anything go wrong since, along with using
the WinMegaPov 0.5a version.

Guess you're using NT, Pabs?  And Jetlag, a beta of IE or something?  May be
specific troubles to those.

I also tried to see if I could "soft-crash" MegaPov just now by doing Selected
Area renders over and over again.  100+ times and all fine.  I've been wanting
to try counting that before.

Bob

"Pabs" <pab### [at] hotmailcom> wrote in message
news:39408314.89A734AF@hotmail.com...
| Jetlag wrote:
|
| > > * fixed interface-related bugs (Windows version moved to 3.1g interface)
| >
| > I still get lines of garbage in the message window, but the about box says
| > 3.1g, could you have mixed up some files? Can anyone confirm this?
|
| I only get the garbage using blue rock but not any of the other backgrounds
| BTW I looked a MegaPOV.exe with a resource ripper & the blue rock bitmap has
~
| 4 lines of pixels where the blue is all the same colour and about 1/3 -1/2
the
| way across the next line is also like this.
| I also checked pvengine.exe & my home custom compile but neither had these
| artifacts - So maybe Nathan should redownload the win3.1g src archive & make
| sure the bitmap he compiles with is the correct one & has no artifacts.
| BTW this still doesn't explain the colours I see - sometimes all one colour
| (black/white/others), sometimes pinks, blue, grey & others - tiled pattern
|
| Bye
| Pabs
|
|

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> I only get the garbage using blue rock but not any of the other
backgrounds
> BTW I looked a MegaPOV.exe with a resource ripper & the blue rock bitmap
has ~
> 4 lines of pixels where the blue is all the same colour and about 1/3 -1/2
the
> way across the next line is also like this.
> I also checked pvengine.exe & my home custom compile but neither had these
> artifacts - So maybe Nathan should redownload the win3.1g src archive &
make
> sure the bitmap he compiles with is the correct one & has no artifacts.
> BTW this still doesn't explain the colours I see - sometimes all one
colour
> (black/white/others), sometimes pinks, blue, grey & others - tiled pattern

Hey, I think you're right. It appears as though the blue rock bitmap is
corrupted.

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When this HooHa started I was under the impression that the algorithm
was patented _after_ CS produced the GIF format but before Unisys was
involved. I was wrong?

--
Alf

http://www.peake42.freeserve.co.uk/
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Alf_Peake/


Mark Gordon <mtg### [at] mailbagcom> wrote in message
news:393EE7E5.84E8A8E6@mailbag.com...
> David wrote:
>
> > Did Unisys even make the GIF format?
>
> CompuServe made the GIF format, using an algorithm that they did not
> realize had been patented by a company that had subsequently been
> purchased by Unisys.  Had CompuServe known the algorithm was
encumbered
> by a patent, they probably would have chosen a different algorithm.
>
> -Mark Gordon

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Alf Peake wrote:
> 
> When this HooHa started I was under the impression that the algorithm
> was patented _after_ CS produced the GIF format but before Unisys was
> involved. I was wrong?

Digging out books...

1984 - LZW compression invented and written up in IEEE Computer
1985 - LZW patent approved
1986 - Sperry (patent holder) merged with Burroughs to form Unisys, not
quite a purchase like I remembered
1987 - CompuServe creates GIF
1993 - Unisys becomes aware that GIF uses LZW compression

This paraphrased from Encyclopedia of Graphics File Formats, 2nd ed.

-Mark Gordn

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