 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
I'd like to convert bitmap files to GIFs, especially animated GIFs, under
Linux/Unix.
Ideally, it should be controllable entirely from the command line. Barring
that, the process should be invocable from a script.
Equally important, I would like the files created to be LEGAL for web
publication under the UniSys LZW licensing requirements. This means that
any application which creates then must have a UniSys license.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
OpenMined wrote:
>
> I'd like to convert bitmap files to GIFs, especially animated GIFs, under
> Linux/Unix.
>
> Ideally, it should be controllable entirely from the command line. Barring
> that, the process should be invocable from a script.
>
prog 'convert' from the ImageMagick package.
http://www.imagemagick.org/
--
Thierry Boudet http://la.buvette.org/
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
> prog 'convert' from the ImageMagick package.
> http://www.imagemagick.org/
>
Looks very promising for image manipulation. However, does not apparently
satisfy the licensed GIF requirement. From their maillist archives:
List: imagemagick
Subject: Re: GIF licensing issue
Date: 2000-07-19 1:42:52
[...]
ImageMagick has not licensed the technology. You must negotiate LZW
licensing directly with Unisys.
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
Only commercial products like PaintShopPro or so allow you to do so without
paying royalties; THEY have already payed the "insurance" (have you ever saw
a Mafia movie? if so, you understand...) to UNISYS gang.
Alessandro Coppo
a.c### [at] iol it
P.S.: If I were you, I would look for a free alternative (even if this
required to drop the animations).
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
> Only commercial products like PaintShopPro or so allow you to do so
without
> paying royalties; THEY have already payed the "insurance" (have you ever
saw
> a Mafia movie? if so, you understand...) to UNISYS gang.
I assumed that, given the cost of a UniSys license. So, that still leaves
me wondering what applications which run on Li/Unix
a) support legal GIFs.
b) run from command line and
c) scripts.
Thanks
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
OpenMined <**Mail Free America**> wrote:
: Looks very promising for image manipulation. However, does not apparently
: satisfy the licensed GIF requirement.
Why is it so important that they have licensed GIF? If you live in a country
where (idiotic) program patents can be made and unisys has patented LZW
there, you'll have to get the license for yourself anyways, independent of
whether imagemagick has the license or not.
It's good to live in a country where such idiotic patents are not allowed.
--
char*i="b[7FK@`3NB6>B:b3O6>:B:b3O6><`3:;8:6f733:>::b?7B>:>^B>C73;S1";
main(_,c,m){for(m=32;c=*i++-49;c&m?puts(""):m)for(_=(
c/4)&7;putchar(m),_--?m:(_=(1<<(c&3))-1,(m^=3)&3););} /*- Warp -*/
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
> Why is it so important that they have licensed GIF? If you live in a
country
> where (idiotic) program patents can be made and unisys has patented LZW
> there, you'll have to get the license for yourself anyways, independent of
> whether imagemagick has the license or not.
The premise for your initial question does not seem to be the case.
The UniSys patent apparently applies only to any software which produces
GIFs using the LZW compression algorythm. Put concisely, if the software
you are manufacturing is distributed with LZW enabled, you must license it.
USERS of such software can apparently create GIF images for distribution
with no further need for fees.
The ImageMagik creators, latest postings on their site suggest, are
distributing their package with LZW compression for GIF disabled (making a
30K fike 500K!). LZW is still apparently in their source code, and one can
enable it in the compilation, but the resultant program is legally subject
to licensing requirements. For example, if I have a webserver which serves
up on-the-fly GIF images using my compilation of ImageMagik, I am infringing
on the LZW patent.
However annoying the patenting of the trivial and obvious (LZW may or may
not be 'obvious'- it's efficacy is hardly trivial), our annoyance does not
insulate us from legal liability. So I'm STILL looking for a licensed GIF
engine for Linux.
___
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
On 2001-01-31 10:18, Warp <war### [at] tagpovrayorg> wrote:
>OpenMined <**Mail Free America**> wrote:
>: Looks very promising for image manipulation. However, does not
>: apparently satisfy the licensed GIF requirement.
>
> Why is it so important that they have licensed GIF? If you live
>in a country where (idiotic) program patents can be made and unisys
>has patented LZW there, you'll have to get the license for yourself
>anyways, independent of whether imagemagick has the license or not.
Unisys doesn't care whether the licence is payed by the vendor of
the software or the user. For commercial software, the vendor pays
some amount for every copy sold, so the user doesn't have to pay. For
software distributed for free, obviously the programmer can't pay some
fee to Unisys for every download, so theoretically the user has to pay.
BTW, some time ago I looked up the fee on Unisys home page. It was
pretty low (a few dollars at most), and I considered actually paying it
(although I live in a country where to my knowledge LZW isn't patented)
- handling costs for a single user licensing a single copy of a single
program would definitely cost them more than they earn - imagine a few
hundred thousand people from all over the world inquiring how they can
pay, sending them the money in strange ways, and Unisys loses 100 bucks
on each transaction ;->
hp
--
_ | Peter J. Holzer | All Linux applications run on Solaris,
|_|_) | Sysadmin WSR | which is our implementation of Linux.
| | | hjp### [at] wsracat |
__/ | http://www.hjp.at/ | -- Scott McNealy, Dec. 2000
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
Peter, I checked their site recently and came away with the belief that the
license was a flat $5000 for software vendors, and a different arrangement
for websites which serve software-generated GIFs. I saw no mechanism by
which they would license anything for a few dollars.
Wish I was wrong about that, but that's the way it seems.
___
>
> Unisys doesn't care whether the licence is payed by the vendor of
> the software or the user. For commercial software, the vendor pays
> some amount for every copy sold, so the user doesn't have to pay. For
> software distributed for free, obviously the programmer can't pay some
> fee to Unisys for every download, so theoretically the user has to pay.
>
> BTW, some time ago I looked up the fee on Unisys home page. It was
> pretty low (a few dollars at most), and I considered actually paying it
> (although I live in a country where to my knowledge LZW isn't patented)
> - handling costs for a single user licensing a single copy of a single
> program would definitely cost them more than they earn - imagine a few
> hundred thousand people from all over the world inquiring how they can
> pay, sending them the money in strange ways, and Unisys loses 100 bucks
> on each transaction ;->
>
> hp
>
> --
> _ | Peter J. Holzer | All Linux applications run on Solaris,
> |_|_) | Sysadmin WSR | which is our implementation of Linux.
> | | | hjp### [at] wsracat |
> __/ | http://www.hjp.at/ | -- Scott McNealy, Dec. 2000
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
OpenMined <**Mail Free America**> wrote:
: LZW is still apparently in their source code, and one can
: enable it in the compilation, but the resultant program is legally subject
: to licensing requirements. For example, if I have a webserver which serves
: up on-the-fly GIF images using my compilation of ImageMagik, I am infringing
: on the LZW patent.
I couldn't care less. I have made a GIF reader library and I use GIFs in
my web page.
The LZW patent, besides being idiotic, does not hold here, so I can do
whatever I want.
--
char*i="b[7FK@`3NB6>B:b3O6>:B:b3O6><`3:;8:6f733:>::b?7B>:>^B>C73;S1";
main(_,c,m){for(m=32;c=*i++-49;c&m?puts(""):m)for(_=(
c/4)&7;putchar(m),_--?m:(_=(1<<(c&3))-1,(m^=3)&3););} /*- Warp -*/
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
