Resources for Webmasters
Dateline: 11/04/99
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“Webmasters will display their protest against software patents by publicly burning their GIF files.” |
A little over two months ago, many Webmasters were up in arms about a new statement from Unisys regarding licensing fees for Web sites that use GIF images. This resulted in a project developed by the League for Programming Freedom entitled Burn All GIFs Day. Burn All GIFs Day will take place tomorrow in Brisbane, California where Webmasters will display their protest against this and other software patents by gathering at Unisys and publicly burning their GIF files. Many other Webmasters, including the US Department of Defense, are participating in the protest by converting their Web images to non-GIF formats.
To assist those Webmasters who choose to participate, I've gathered the following resources for image conversion, GIF animation alternatives, and GIF-less Web clip art sources.
Conversion
Software | Animation Alternatives
GIF-less Clip Art | PNG Information |
GIF Controversy
If you're participating in Burn All GIFs Day, I'd like to hear about it. Come talk about it in the forum.
Conversion Software
These resources will help you convert your GIFs to other formats.
gif2png
Converts GIF files to PNG, preserving all graphic information, including transparency. Operates under Linux, Unix, MS-DOS or Microsoft Windows. Also includes a script for converting an entire Web site completely including HTML and PHP references.Image Converters with PNG Support
An extensive list of image converters for various platforms that support GIF to PNG conversions.Applications with PNG Support
A listing of Web browsers and graphics programs that support the PNG format.
Animation Alternatives
One of the problems with converting all GIFs to PNG or JPEG format is the fact that these formats don't support animation. Below are some alternatives to using GIF animations on your Web pages.
Dynamic Images
About.com's Guide to JavaScript has these links to JavaScript tutorials to help you create dynamic animation effects.Java Animation Tools
Animation Guide Tom Franks provides links to several Java animation tools.JavaScript Animation
About.com's Guide to JavaScript has these links to JavaScripts for various animation effects.Macromedia Flash (Win/Mac)
Flash allows you to add interactive animation and streaming multimedia to the web using its own scalable vector format. The flash player is included with most newer operating systems and Web browsers and is quickly becoming a widespread Web animation format. Also see Flash Animation Links and Flash Resources.QuickTime 4 Pro (Win/Mac)
Professional quality digital video authoring tool that allows you to create Internet-ready movies. Learn more about QuickTime from About.com's Animation Guide Tom Franks.Wavier Text
About.com's Guide to JavaScript provides this tutorial for creating a wavy text animation using Javascript.
GIF-less
Clip Collections
Several About.com Guides are getting into the "Burn All GIFs" game. Here you'll find other Guides' contributions of Web clip art offered in non-GIF formats.
Ping Page
Jacci Bear, About.com's Guide to Desktop Publishing, has begun the conversion process for several of her images in honor of Burn All GIFs Day. She offers them freely for personal or commercial use in print or on the Web. Also see her Thanksgiving Ping Page.Food and Cooking Clip Art
Diana Rattray, Guide to Southern Cooking has food and holiday clip art available in PNG format.Food Pictures
Rick Hall, About.com's Nutrition Guide offers free food pictures, all JPEGs.Scenic Photo Gallery
Jana Jones, Guide to Hotels, Inns, and Resorts provides these scenic photos of London, St. Thomas, Smoky Mountains, and South African landscapes and wildlife.
PNG Support & Information
These links provide information about the PNG format and what software supports it.
Browsers with PNG Support
Find out what browsers support which features of the PNG format.GIF vs. PNG
Comparison of PNG and GIF image formats.Image Editors with PNG Support
Find out what software supports the PNG format.PNG For a Healthy Image
This report from a Jan. '97 issue of InterNIC News examines current web graphics standards and discusses why PNG should become an Internet standard.
GIF Controversy
These links provide more information about the GIF controversy.
$5000 to license GIFs?
A recent statement from Unisys implies that all Web site owners may have to pay $5000 or more for a license to use GIFs... but don't go burning your GIFs 'til you read my perspective.Burn all GIFs Day
Don Marti proposes that all GIF users should "gather at Unisys and burn all their GIF files, freeing the Web of this silly patent and this useless, litigious company once and for all."Don't Panic About GIFs
From evolt.org, an attempt to counteract the hype and uncover the facts.The GIF Controversy: A Software Developer's Perspective
A detailed history of the GIF controversy.
~
Sue Chastain
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