X-Message-Number: 2962 From: (Thomas Donaldson) Subject: CRYONICS: Re: formats Date: Fri, 5 Aug 1994 23:47:04 -0700 (PDT) Hi again: I remember vividly the period when various cryonics figures traded insults back and forth over the net. I also know how hard it is to keep quiet when you are the target of the insults or the misunderstanding. So I hope very much that Mike's policy can be carried out not just by Mike but by everyone else too. It is a good one, but virtue is hard to attain. About formats for images: This is really a comment on Perry Metzgar's message. No, Perry, even though there are significant computers that CAN view postscript files, there are others than simply cannot. This is not a problem intrinsic to the computer, but one of what software exists. I don't know just what computers people on Cryonet are using, and in the end this MAY not be an issue. Perhaps a survey would be useful. But I've not heard of any postscript viewers on ANY of the Apple series (Apple II+ to Apple IIGS). And to get onto the net, basically all you need is a modem and a VT100 emulator, both of which can be easily done by almost any 8 bit computer. I KNOW that there are a significant number of CPM computers still in use; I strongly suspect that there are people accessing the net with a Commodore 128 -- or even 64, or one of the old 8-bit Atari's. Not only that, but machines using the same CHIP as the latest PCs need not have the same circuits or critical memory positions: so that they too need not have any such Postscript viewers (I am referring to various older Japanese computers, in particular). I'm sure that some people will think I'm riding a hobbyhorse here, but I will point out that many schools still have AND USE computers of the Apple series. If you doubt this, notice that at least in the San Jose MERCURY NEWS there are DAILY display ads by a small company which wants to buy Apple series computers of all kinds. Sure: no one tries to solve 3 dimension hydrodynamics equations in real time on Apples. But for lots of ordinary purposes they're quite efficient, just as 86, 286, and other earlier PCs are and have been. It doesn't even need more than 8 bits to put up a reasonable graphic interface. (For those who don't know me: I'm using an Apple IIGS for this reply. It was the last of the Apple series, and uses a 16-bit processor ... not that I have a problem with Postscript files, since I have a Laserwriter Plus hooked up to it). A significant number of computer hobbyists still build and use S-100 CPM computers. and so on. The real point is this: Cserve's GIF exists for all of these, at least for those with any ability to display graphics at all. (Yes, some CPM computers could handle graphics, particularly those from Japan). No matter what graphics standard we might choose, I think a poll of those on Cryonet would be quite useful and informative --- though I do keep thinking of other people on the net who one day "drop in" to see what's going on... I thought one purpose of Cryonet was to specifically allow this. So that's why I argue for GIF. Long long life, Thomas Donaldson Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=2962