| Re: IDL 5.5 jpeg and tiff [message #27528] |
Sun, 28 October 2001 14:28  |
newt
Messages: 4
Registered: August 2001
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Junior Member |
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"Steve Smith" wrote:
> On Fri, 26 Oct 2001 04:05:21 +0000 (UTC), Mark Hadfield
> <m.hadfield@niwa.cri.nz> wrote:
>> From: "Mark Chan" <markchan@shaw.ca>
>>> v5.5 comes with a form to request for JPEG and TIFF support.
>>
>> That's GIF and TIFF, isn't it? JPEG works fine OOTB.
>>
>>> Questions:
>>>
>>> 1) Has anyone find out how much the licensing costs?
>>
>> Not me. I imagine it would depend on what you were going to do with the
>> images. You have to negotiate with Unisys, not RSI, to get the license. I
>> should think that would be a royal pain.
>
> I emailed the email address at unisys for info on obtaining a license, I
> reveived a two page questionnaire asking me:
>
> LZW Licensing Questionnaire
>
> General information regarding licensing is available on our Website at
> http://www.unisys.com/unisys/lzw. In order to send you the proper license
> agreement, please provide us with the following information:
>
> 1)What form of LZW you will be using, (i.e., GIF, TIFF, PostScript-2, PDF or
> a proprietary form of LZW type)?
> 2)On what type of computer will the application be running? E.g., a PC, MAC,
> workstation, server or web server.
> 3)Describe the primary overall functions of the application(s) you are
> developing.
> 4)Will the software be a toolkit or other type of software intended for
> development purposes?
> 5)If you require a Unisys license in order to obtain unlocking of GIF or any
> other LZW capability in software you obtained from a software vendor (or other
> third party), please identify this vendor (or third party) and the particular
> software which needs to be unlocked (include software serial number).
> 6)Is the application(s) for your company or your client company's internal use?
> If so, please answer the following questions:
> How many computers will run the application?
> How many additional computers will have access to the application via a
> LAN or other network connection?
> Describe the company's business and how the application is used in that
> business.
> If the product is being developed for a specific client company, please
> identify the client company.
>
> 7)Is the application(s) related to the Internet?
> If so, please describe how the application is used, e.g., is it used for
> implementing an Intranet, or for electronic commerce, or for providing a
> subscription or free service, or as a billboard for advertising your company's
> products/information or another company's products/services.
>
> Will any paid advertisements appear on the site? Will anything be sold on the
> site?
>
> 8)Will the software be sold to end users such as OEMs, VAR's or consumers?
> If so, please answer the following questions:
> What types of customers will receive the software?
> Is it to be sold or distributed to others as part of a software application?
> If so, describe the application.
> Please list all countries of distribution, and method of distribution, e.g.,
> via the Internet or on a disk.
> Please also provide at least a general indication of your pricing and yearly
> volume.
>
> 9)Will the application be bundled with any hardware or other software?
> If so, please describe this bundled hardware and/or software.
>
> 10)Please provide the name, address, phone and fax numbers, and web site
> address for your company.
> Company Name:
> Primary Contact:
> Street Address:
> City/State/County/Zip:
> Phone:
> Fax:
> Web URL:
> Contact e-mail address:
>
> 11)Is your organization a governmental entity (e.g. federal, state or city
> government or agency thereof) or an educational institution (e.g., state or
> private university)?
> 12)Is your company a division or subsidiary of another company?
> If so, please identify the parent company.
>
> PLEASE DO NOT SEND US ANY INFORMATION WHICH IS CONFIDENTIAL OR PROPRIETARY TO
> YOUR COMPANY.
>
> I replied with the following:
>
> "Do you have a information about your license requirements/rates? Are they so
> complex that you must interview (via your questionnaire) license candidates
> before stating them? I am not a reseller of software. I found the
> questionnaire a bit ridiculous."
>
> A few hours later I received a phone call from a lawyer! A rather defensive one
> at that, who seemed to be screaming at me the whole time. His response was, and
> this is paraphrased: if you think it's ridiculous, then we can't help you. He
> did mention something about a $475 license which I _think_ is for joe blow
> user who doesn't want to sell anything which has anything to do with LZW, I'm
> sorry, but between all the screaming, I wasn't able to comfortably ask more
> specific questions. He did mention that the $475 was to cover things like the
> phone call I received. I guess the programmers were paid long ago, the license
> fees go to lawyers now :^) ! I guess you'll just have to submit the above
> information and find out what they'll charge, it may be nothing. My impression
> was to stay away from this company (I mean RUN away!), there has to be better
> alternatives.
>
>>
>>> 2) Is it worth it?
>
> Well, this is a judgement call, isn't it? I guess all these complications come
> from the history of LZW/GIF, which I don't really know. If LZW/GIF were stolen
> from Unisys, then I guess I can understand their wanting to seek fair
> retribution, which may be messy. In that case, I'd say it's worth it to see
> fairplay triumph. On the other hand, if that is not the case, then it seems
> there is something shady going on, and I would say it's certainly _not_ worth
> it and from the point of view of doing the right thing, my conscience would
> not permit me to aid and abet such behavior. I am therefore very interested in
> learning a little more about this issue and how it came about. I think to
> intelligently answer your subjective question, we'd have to consider this.
>
I found an interesting article about the history of the LZW issue, which I
thought may be
interesting to others:
http://www.cloanto.com/users/mcb/19950127giflzw.html
>
>>
>> I very much doubt it.
>>
>>> 3) Better alternative(s) for achieving the same?
>>
>> PNG for still images. It's widely supported these days and technically
>> superior to GIF.
>>
>> For animation there are several alternatives that have been discussed on
>> this group. I like FLC, though it's limited to 8-bit colour.
>>
>> ---
>> Mark Hadfield
>> m.hadfield@niwa.cri.nz http://katipo.niwa.cri.nz/~hadfield
>> National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Posted from clam.niwa.cri.nz [202.36.29.1]
>> via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG
>
> --
> Steve S.
>
> steve@NOSPAMmailaps.org
> remove NOSPAM before replying
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| Re: IDL 5.5 jpeg and tiff [message #27539 is a reply to message #27534] |
Sat, 27 October 2001 21:39  |
Joseph B. Gurman
Messages: 31
Registered: April 2000
|
Member |
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In article <001c01c15dd3$6b90aa10$d938a8c0@Hadfield>, "Mark Hadfield"
<m.hadfield@niwa.cri.nz> wrote:
> From: "Mark Chan" <markchan@shaw.ca>
>> v5.5 comes with a form to request for JPEG and TIFF support.
>
> That's GIF and TIFF, isn't it? JPEG works fine OOTB.
>
>> Questions:
>>
>> 1) Has anyone find out how much the licensing costs?
>
> Not me. I imagine it would depend on what you were going to do with the
> images. You have to negotiate with Unisys, not RSI, to get the license. I
> should think that would be a royal pain.
>
>> 2) Is it worth it?
>
> I very much doubt it.
>
>> 3) Better alternative(s) for achieving the same?
>
> PNG for still images. It's widely supported these days and technically
> superior to GIF.
>
> For animation there are several alternatives that have been discussed on
> this group. I like FLC, though it's limited to 8-bit colour.
Everything people have been saying about PNG and other modern file
formats is true (AFAIK), but we have hundreds of pieces of IDL code that
write GIF's, and support a library that has hundreds more. some of them
ar eused in server mode to produce hundred of iamges a day that go to
our Web sites. Simply doing the global replaces and testing the
resulting PNG's would cost us a lot more than $475, if that's the price
for a US governemnt institution (we usually pay higher prices). That of
course, doesn't count the incoveneince for users whose Web browsers can
handle animated GIFs, but not animated something else.
I'm expecting a fax from Unisys RSN; we submitted the questionnaire
a couple of days ago.
Joe Gurman
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| Re: IDL 5.5 jpeg and tiff [message #27540 is a reply to message #27539] |
Sat, 27 October 2001 20:18 |
A. D. & J.C. Cool
Messages: 16
Registered: February 2000
|
Junior Member |
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"Steve Smith" wrote:
> On Fri, 26 Oct 2001 04:05:21 +0000 (UTC), Mark Hadfield
> <m.hadfield@niwa.cri.nz> wrote:
>> From: "Mark Chan" <markchan@shaw.ca>
>>> v5.5 comes with a form to request for JPEG and TIFF support.
>>
>> That's GIF and TIFF, isn't it? JPEG works fine OOTB.
>>
>>> Questions:
>>>
>>> 1) Has anyone find out how much the licensing costs?
>>
>> Not me. I imagine it would depend on what you were going to do with the
>> images. You have to negotiate with Unisys, not RSI, to get the license. I
>> should think that would be a royal pain.
>
Hi,
Out of interest I approached UNISYS, and requested a licence cost for purely
inhouse use at our Government defence facility.
The licence is "free". But there is a USD$475 cost described as "processing
fees."
Nobody at work has felt that distraught at the loss of GIF functionality that
they've
wanted to support spending that sort of money.
Long Live PNG.
Andrew Cool
Defence Science & Technlogy Organisation, Edinburgh, Adelaide
SouthAustralia
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| Re: IDL 5.5 jpeg and tiff [message #27554 is a reply to message #27540] |
Fri, 26 October 2001 12:20 |
nobody@nowhere.com (S
Messages: 55
Registered: July 2001
|
Member |
|
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On Fri, 26 Oct 2001 04:05:21 +0000 (UTC), Mark Hadfield
<m.hadfield@niwa.cri.nz> wrote:
> From: "Mark Chan" <markchan@shaw.ca>
>> v5.5 comes with a form to request for JPEG and TIFF support.
>
> That's GIF and TIFF, isn't it? JPEG works fine OOTB.
>
>> Questions:
>>
>> 1) Has anyone find out how much the licensing costs?
>
> Not me. I imagine it would depend on what you were going to do with the
> images. You have to negotiate with Unisys, not RSI, to get the license. I
> should think that would be a royal pain.
I emailed the email address at unisys for info on obtaining a license, I
reveived a two page questionnaire asking me:
LZW Licensing Questionnaire
General information regarding licensing is available on our Website at
http://www.unisys.com/unisys/lzw. In order to send you the proper license
agreement, please provide us with the following information:
1)What form of LZW you will be using, (i.e., GIF, TIFF, PostScript-2, PDF or
a proprietary form of LZW type)?
2)On what type of computer will the application be running? E.g., a PC, MAC,
workstation, server or web server.
3)Describe the primary overall functions of the application(s) you are
developing.
4)Will the software be a toolkit or other type of software intended for
development purposes?
5)If you require a Unisys license in order to obtain unlocking of GIF or any
other LZW capability in software you obtained from a software vendor (or other
third party), please identify this vendor (or third party) and the particular
software which needs to be unlocked (include software serial number).
6)Is the application(s) for your company or your client company's internal use?
If so, please answer the following questions:
How many computers will run the application?
How many additional computers will have access to the application via a
LAN or other network connection?
Describe the company's business and how the application is used in that
business.
If the product is being developed for a specific client company, please
identify the client company.
7)Is the application(s) related to the Internet?
If so, please describe how the application is used, e.g., is it used for
implementing an Intranet, or for electronic commerce, or for providing a
subscription or free service, or as a billboard for advertising your company's
products/information or another company's products/services.
Will any paid advertisements appear on the site? Will anything be sold on the
site?
8)Will the software be sold to end users such as OEMs, VAR's or consumers?
If so, please answer the following questions:
What types of customers will receive the software?
Is it to be sold or distributed to others as part of a software application?
If so, describe the application.
Please list all countries of distribution, and method of distribution, e.g.,
via the Internet or on a disk.
Please also provide at least a general indication of your pricing and yearly
volume.
9)Will the application be bundled with any hardware or other software?
If so, please describe this bundled hardware and/or software.
10)Please provide the name, address, phone and fax numbers, and web site
address for your company.
Company Name:
Primary Contact:
Street Address:
City/State/County/Zip:
Phone:
Fax:
Web URL:
Contact e-mail address:
11)Is your organization a governmental entity (e.g. federal, state or city
government or agency thereof) or an educational institution (e.g., state or
private university)?
12)Is your company a division or subsidiary of another company?
If so, please identify the parent company.
PLEASE DO NOT SEND US ANY INFORMATION WHICH IS CONFIDENTIAL OR PROPRIETARY TO
YOUR COMPANY.
I replied with the following:
"Do you have a information about your license requirements/rates? Are they so
complex that you must interview (via your questionnaire) license candidates
before stating them? I am not a reseller of software. I found the
questionnaire a bit ridiculous."
A few hours later I received a phone call from a lawyer! A rather defensive one
at that, who seemed to be screaming at me the whole time. His response was, and
this is paraphrased: if you think it's ridiculous, then we can't help you. He
did mention something about a $475 license which I _think_ is for joe blow
user who doesn't want to sell anything which has anything to do with LZW, I'm
sorry, but between all the screaming, I wasn't able to comfortably ask more
specific questions. He did mention that the $475 was to cover things like the
phone call I received. I guess the programmers were paid long ago, the license
fees go to lawyers now :^) ! I guess you'll just have to submit the above
information and find out what they'll charge, it may be nothing. My impression
was to stay away from this company (I mean RUN away!), there has to be better
alternatives.
>
>> 2) Is it worth it?
Well, this is a judgement call, isn't it? I guess all these complications come
from the history of LZW/GIF, which I don't really know. If LZW/GIF were stolen
from Unisys, then I guess I can understand their wanting to seek fair
retribution, which may be messy. In that case, I'd say it's worth it to see
fairplay triumph. On the other hand, if that is not the case, then it seems
there is something shady going on, and I would say it's certainly _not_ worth
it and from the point of view of doing the right thing, my conscience would
not permit me to aid and abet such behavior. I am therefore very interested in
learning a little more about this issue and how it came about. I think to
intelligently answer your subjective question, we'd have to consider this.
>
> I very much doubt it.
>
>> 3) Better alternative(s) for achieving the same?
>
> PNG for still images. It's widely supported these days and technically
> superior to GIF.
>
> For animation there are several alternatives that have been discussed on
> this group. I like FLC, though it's limited to 8-bit colour.
>
> ---
> Mark Hadfield
> m.hadfield@niwa.cri.nz http://katipo.niwa.cri.nz/~hadfield
> National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research
>
>
>
>
> --
> Posted from clam.niwa.cri.nz [202.36.29.1]
> via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG
--
Steve S.
steve@NOSPAMmailaps.org
remove NOSPAM before replying
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| Re: IDL 5.5 jpeg and tiff [message #27669 is a reply to message #27532] |
Mon, 29 October 2001 08:08 |
wmconnolley
Messages: 106
Registered: November 2000
|
Senior Member |
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Mark Hadfield <m.hadfield@niwa.cri.nz> wrote:
> Good idea, but for the last year or two ImageMagick has not supported LZW
> compression out of the box. This is from README.txt:
Interesting. Well, either we have an old version or our system people
can read the README...
-W.
--
William M Connolley | wmc@bas.ac.uk | http://www.nerc-bas.ac.uk/icd/wmc/
Climate Modeller, British Antarctic Survey | Disclaimer: I speak for myself
I'm a .signature virus! copy me into your .signature file & help me spread!
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