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GIF Patent Prepares to Expire
pajamacore writes "It's worth noting that 20 June 2003 is GIF Liberation Day, the day on which US Patent 4,558,302 expires. The patent describes the LZW compression algorithm used in .gif files. That said, maybe the prices of image editing applications will drop slightly when corporations don't have to pay fees to Unisys."
LZW Patent Expires...
JPGs at Eleven.
"Consider yourself a member of a virtual corporation with Mr. Torvalds as your Chief Executive Officer." - Linux Advocac
That said, maybe the prices of image editing applications will drop slightly when corporations don't have to pay fees to Unisys
Ahh what I wouldn't give to be young and naive again...
NO CARRIER
...I want to know when .TXT expires. ;)
The coolest voice ever.
One day we will see a thread without a theory about how "M$" is going to use this new development to fuck us all.
One day, man.
--
the strongest word is still the word "free"
Riiiight...Photoshop "price"...don't tell Senator Hatch that.
"You tried your best and failed miserably. The lesson is...never try. Heh!" -Homer
No longer must we be deprived of 256 color paletted graphics with inferior lossless compession! Now we can experience the finest in 1980s(?) image technology!
Introducing the new Occam Fusion! Now with sqrt(-1) fewer blades!
I'll always remember GIF for introducing me to a huge underground world of BBS porn when I was a kid.
I used to string a 50ft telephone cord from my family's computer into the nearest phone jack (in the kitchen) every night and download GIFs over zmodem at 2400baud. It's a wonder I could stay awake in school.
Since the day we upgraded from CGA to VGA (256 color!) graphics, I've been a sick sick puppy.
Thank you, GIF! You made it all possible.
IE also doesn't support such crack addict features such as stability, and security.
Oh, right, tabbed browsing is for terrorists. Pop up ad blocking? Those companies need to make their money too!
GO GATOR!
-If God wanted people to be better than me, he would have made them that way.
I had a similar experience with ASCII art and a 300 baud modem...
You missed one:
5. Using a toothpick to undermine the foundations of the Adobe headquarters.
That'll show 'm.
What have you got against Adobe, anyway?
Be wary of any facts that confirm your opinion.
Ode to LZW Compression
Abe Lempel, Jacob Ziv and Terry Welch
Discovered a neat algorithm to squelch
CompuServe incorporated it into the GIF
Good programmers soon caught the drift
The format was published, free and open
Many useful things started to happen
Then Unisys Corp purchased the rights
And changed the terms on LZW overnight
The useful algorithm was off limits
Ransom to corporate greed and profits
On June 20, 2003, the LZW patent expired
Shame on Unisys for what has transpired
Someday Unisys books will be in arrears
While the ideas of LZW survive the years
The simple answer: "gif" is pronouncable, and can even be conjugated - like "I just giffed all night long" or "Could you please gif that one for me". Or just as a noun: "I have a gif of you, 20oz. of lubricant and a cell phone - can I have a raise?".
./-readers have heard their boss talk about ASDL, IDSN, STMP or (the all-time favourite) HTLM!
C'mon, don't expect your manager to be able to pronounce "png" - he would probably switch the letters. I suppose a lot of
- Peter Brodersen; professional nerd
LZW is a dictionary compression method. There are fundamentally 2 kinds of lossless compression techniques: dictionary and statistical. With the patent released on one of the first good well known dictionary compression, homebrew developers like myself are free to use that algorithm to develop our own compression techniques with no fear of repurcussion. This is a wonderful thing for people like me who are interested in making a better compression format for images. Now all I have to wait is for the patent on wavelets to go, and I can release my secret compression technique involving LZW and the secret wavelet transform of death!
Muhahahahahahahahaha.
1> Create radically awesome compression scheme.
2> Sell to some megacorp.
3> Profit!
<strongbad>Seriously, I'm so awesome!</strongbad>
Kinda like Quake, I think. Like how you could install it on all your friend's computers. Makes it popular.
Yeah, like all those kids pirated Quake and learned it, then when they grew up and went into a professional Quake-using office they told their IT guys, "buy Quake!".