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Burn All GIFs Burn All GIFsA project of the League for Programming Freedom. Spotlight on GIF-free sitesUS Department of Defense finalizes plan to burnmost of its GIFs.Don't flame SoftwareDeveloper infoGraphicsIn the NewsContact UsBurn All GIFs Day mailing list archivesSubscribe to theBurn All GIFs Day mailing listPlease do not buy from Amazon. Amazon boycott page at the Free Software Foundation site.It's acompletely trivial application of cookies, a technologythat was introduced several years before Amazon filed for theirpatent. It's even more ironic that in private conversation, oneof the authors of the "cookies" spec mentioned to me that theyconsidered the idea "too trivial to patent." To characterize"1-Click" as an "invention" is a parody. -- Tim O'Reilly Other patent reform sitesPetition for a Software-Patent-Free Europe The League for Programming Freedom The O'Reilly Networkpatents page is up-to-date with coverage of the software patent issue. Say yes to freedom of speech. Say no to Unisys. Protect yourright to create Web graphics and software.Weather at Unisys![[weather map]](http://www.accuweather.com/wxpost/byzip/19422/42/wxport.png)  Free the Web! Burn all GIFs! Bay Area Web developers march for software patent reformGIFs are now patent-free, but you can learn fromthe GIF fiasco and protect the digital informationyou create from patent attacks. Things you can do:Put your content in formats unrestricted bysoftware patents. TheXiph.org Foundation is a non-profit corporationdedicated to protecting the foundations of Internetmultimedia. Visit their site for information on howto keep your audio and video content unencumberedby patents. Oppose the expansion of software patents to your country, if such patents are not available there now.Insist that standards organizations in which you participate require an"innovation compatible" patent license, which allows for implementation inFree/Open Source software.Develop and support software that works with non-patented file formatsand network protocols, instead of patent-encumbered ones, where available.Please do not mail the maintainers of this site to ask if theLZW patent is still in effect in a certain country. We do not advise on patent law. If you are concerned about needinga patent license to do your work, please support patent reform.Sign the petition againstsoftware patents in Europe. Which browsers support PNG?Most of them,including Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.I'll just use GIFs without a license, and give those patentweasels the finger!By switching your site to PNG, youencourage users to upgrade to PNG-capable browsers, and showbig-budget sites that they don't have to pay multi-million-dollarroyalties to Unisys. Helping make Unisys lose a GIF licensingdeal is a better way to give them the finger than just using GIFson your site.Unisys is only going after software vendors,right? Web sites with GIFs on them have nothing to fear, right?Two words. Contributoryinfringement. Do we have your attention now?Apple has a patent on PNG too, right?Wrong."PNG alpha is identical to the version described in Porterand Duff's 1984 SIGGRAPH paper, which precedes Apple's filing by8 years." -- Greg Roelofs, PNG GroupForgent claims to hold a patent that covers JPEG, right?Yes, but it wouldn't stand up in court, so ignore Forgent. "ThisJPEG patent will neither stand the test of time or the scrutinyof some good patent litigators. Any concerns are much ado aboutnothing." -- Greg Aharonian  Why are web comics going GIF-free? "Switchingover to the PNG format has given me about a 4K reductionin size per panel." says Christopher B. Wright inAnOpen Letter to All Web Cartooonists. Also read PNG Tips for Cartoonistsby Drake Emko, and check out some of the web comics in our Spotlight on GIF-free sites section. About burnallgifs.orgUnisys, oncea well-known computer company,holds a patent on a method of data compressioncalled LZW. Other, much better, methods of data compression arenot covered by any patent.The Unisys LZW patent expires in the USA on June 20, 2003.However, according to Unisys, they hold LZW patents outside theUSA that expire in 2004.LZW is used in an obsolete graphic format called GIF, which manyweb sites use in order to be compatible with old web browsers. Unisysis charging web sites $5000 or more to use these now-obsoleteGIF graphics if the software originally used to create the GIFswas not covered by a Unisys license.Unisys claimed that patentson LZW are in force in the United States, Japan, Canada, France,Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.The catch is that it appears to be difficult or impossible to get a Unisyslicense to use LZW in free software that complies with theOpen Source Definitionor in low-volume proprietary software. gd is an example of a package that can no longer support GIF because ofUnisys's LZW licensing terms.The fact that Unisys was able to patent LZW is due to aflaw in the USpatent system that makes even pencil-and-papercalculations patentable. You could violate some USpatents just doing the story problems in a math or computerscience textbook! However, Unisys's actions are legalunder US law, so the only reasonable alternative to paying the"Unisys tax" on the web is to upgrade graphics from GIF to PNG format, or MNG format foranimations.Despite the title, PNG Tips forCartoonists is a good intro for all web artists who wantto use PNG effectively. A A study conducted by James Bessen and Eric Maskin shows that:Through a sequence of court decisions, patent protection forcomputer programs was significantly strengthened. We will show that,far from unleashing a flurry of new innovative activity, these strongerproperty rights ushered in a period of stagnant, if not declining, R&Damong those industries and firms that patented most.Didn't they already settle this?Unisys has changed their position on GIF licensing (see below) and they can change it again. Unisys does not require licensing, or fees to be paid, for non-commercial, non-profit GIF-based applications, including those foruse on the on-line services. Concerning developers of software for the Internet network, the same principle applies. Unisys will not pursue previous inadvertentinfringement by developers producing versions of software products for the Internet prior to 1995. The company does not requirelicensing, or fees to be paid for non-commercial, non-profit offerings on the Internet, including "Freeware".Unisys 1995emphasis added Unisys has frequently been asked whether a Unisys license is required in order to use LZW software obtained by downloading from the Internet or from other sources. The answer is simple. In all cases, a written license agreement or statement signed by an authorized Unisys representative is required from Unisys for all use, sale or distribution of any software (including so-called "freeware") and/or hardware providing LZW conversion capability (for example, downloaded software used for creating/displaying GIF images).Unisys 1999emphasis addedA very detailed article on the history of GIF is The GIF Controversy: A Software Developer's PerspectiveSpotlight on GIF-free sitesChiralSoftware dynamically converts web images formobile phones, and unless the phone can only displayGIFs, it converts to JPEG or PNG.The Dolphin'sEncyclopedia offersinformation about the delfinariums of the world, taxonomy of eachmember of the delphinidae family and news.Omni Graphics Ltd.offers quick turn printed circuit board fabrication.The FreedomTechnology Center is an IT training facility in MountainView, California.Free World Syndicateis a network for sharing political commentary and for writers andcartoonists to gain exposure to progressive publishers and to thegeneral public.Green CrescentTranslations offers quality Spanish, Portuguese, French, andHaitian Creole translation at an affordable price.Political Hellis a political site about the USA.WebColors Homepage is a visual guide to choosingcolors for web pages, including interactive palettesto experiment with the colors. Find out how you can pack 65,536different colors into a 678-byte image, and learn otheradvantages of the PNG format. Smaller file sizes are just thebeginning.SCO vs IBM is a summary ofthe information techology industry's most bizarre legal case.Anti-Marketingprovides unique strategic marketing and web design services.Protect your privacy with your favorite web filtering tool and a long list of Ad server IP addresses.Edoceo is a fullservice small business technical consulting company based in Seattle,Washington.file-insider.comis an on-line tool that analyzes and displays the structure andcontents of PNG files. Free of charge.Urban Forest Craftsman- Hand crafting furniture from reclaimed urban trees that wouldotherwise be burned, buried, or be taken to landfills.Winicur Consultingoffers professional documentation and research services fortechnology-based companies.The Moss Pigletsplay "freaky folk funk" in Minnesota.Eric'shome page has TV and VCR adjustment notes, Java drawing code,tips on converting imported TVs for New Zealand use, and a JavaScriptcalculator that might just save you a trip to the resistor store.CodeCon 2002 (SanFrancisco, February 15-17) is the workshop for developers ofreal-world applications that support individual liberties.Got Phonebooks?is possibly the largest collection of phone books on the web.Includes full text of the world's first telephone directory publishedin New Haven, Connecticut, USA in 1878.wApua(in development) is a WAP browser written in Perl/Tk.Fat Chuck'sCorrupt CDs lists CDs that are deliberately broken toprevent you from playing them on your computer or DVD player.Check before you buy.TnT'sButtonstampede makes buttons and magnets for all occasions.Hackles (thanks to Jen Brodzikfor the "Web comics are going GIF-free" graphic)The WebPrestige Project asks webmasters not to source other sites'graphics without permission.pngart.com features 50,000free PNG images.Fling is designedto make it impossible to track down either providers or users ofinformation, and impossible to listen in.Annie's Artistry:Fine handmade (GIF-free) leather articles.Free Fonts at Kris' HavenBargain hunters: Check the seven most popular on-line auctionswith one AuctionBeagle search. (And watch the animated tail on the PNG beagle.)Visit beautiful Carlsbad, California, USA.Smokey Bear says extinguish GIFs before leaving your campsite: Yosemite National Park is GIF-free. (Lose the amazon.com link though, people -- ALL software patents suck.)High Tech:André's 8-bit pages,featuring GeckOS/A65, the multitasking, Internet-enabled operating systemfor the Commodore 64. Here's another GIF-free C64 page just because Commodore 64s rule.Low Tech: Oxford CityCampaign for Real Ale. Software patent reform is thirstywork.Graphics Envy: CAVEVirtual Reality System. Our software is licensed.Except maybe if you use it on the web. Um, ask our lawyers.There may besome limitations of use if you are using a Jasc Software productto operate a web server, internet server or bulletin board, orif you are an on-line vendor using the software as a means to runyour on-line service. If you have questions regarding this, pleasecontact us our legal department at [ADDRESS]. Thank you for usingJasc Software products!"Unisys License Information" page at Jasc SoftwareIn other words, even if you pay for licensed software, you still need a lawyer to use GIF.US Department of Defenseplans to burn (most) GIFs The U.S. Department of Defense recently approved mandatoryuse of PNG instead of GIF for images that require lossless compression,except for animations:For the interchange of very large still-raster images that have no geospatial context and where lossy decompression is acceptable, the mandated standard is:* JPEG File Interchange Format, Version 1.02, September 1, 1993, C-CubedMicrosystems.For the interchange of other single raster images that have no geospatial context and where lossycompression is not acceptable, the mandated standard is:* PNG (Portable Network Graphics ) Specification, W3C RecommendationREC-png.html<http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-png.html>.For the lossless interchange of raster images that have no geospatial context and where none of the above cases apply, such as the exchange of still-images that can be viewed in sequence (also referred to as animation), the mandated standard is:* Graphics Interchange Format (GIF), Version 89a, 31 July 1990, CompuServeIncorporated.Source: U.S. Department of Defense Joint TechnicalArchitecture (JTA), version 3.0, 15 Nov 1999, section 2.2.2.2.1.4.2.Register to download thecited document as a zipped PDF. Don't flame UnisysPlease don't flame Unisys. Unisys has had 14 years or so to developtheir position on LZW licensing, and one more flame war won't changeanything. Switch to a non-patented graphics format, burn your GIFsto call attention to the fact that you're doing so, and avoid patentminefields in the future. When it comes to the web, Unisys didn't just miss the boat, they missedthe harbor and the ocean. They'll miss the next big thing too.Free and open standards are winning. Win and be happy.Burn All GIFs Day is about getting out of patent problems, not aboutgetting into flame wars. Burn All Gifs Softwaregif2png isfree, Open Source software to convert GIF images to PNG images underLinux, Unix, MS-DOS or Microsoft Windows. The gif2png distributionalso includes a script, web2png, that can automatically convertan entire website, including patching references to the convertedimages in HTML and PHP pages.A Microsoft Windowsversion of gif2png is available.SolidCapture is anapplication for Microsoft Windows that lets you use a single hot keyto easily capture anything on the screen and send the screenshot tothe clipboard, a file, or your favorite image editing application.SolidCapture uses PNG by default. (Shareware.)Check conversions with file-insider.com, whichdisplays PNG structure and contents. (Online access only; freeof charge.)EZ Optimizerfor Microsoft Windows converts graphics on a local drive or on anFTP server, and also corrects and optimizes HTML. (Shareware)SlowView for MicrosoftWindows converts animated GIFs to MNGs. Available at no charge forunlimited use and noncommercial distribution.eMNGmais a Microsoft Windows application to create MNG animations. (Shareware)PNG/MNGConstruction Set Professional is a Microsoft Windows application tocreate and manage PNG transparencies and MNG animations. (Shareware)pngcrush is anoptimizer for PNG (Portable Network Graphics) files. It can be run froma commandline in an MSDOS window, or from a UNIX or LINUX commandline.Its main purpose is to reduce the size of the PNG IDAT datastream bytrying various compression levels and PNG filter methods. It also canbe used to remove unwanted ancillary chunks, or to add certain chunksincluding gAMA, tRNS, and textual chunks. (Free Software/Open Source)Irfanview is an imageviewer for Microsoft Windows that can open, save, and crop manyimage formats, including converting GIF to PNG. (free of chargefor non-commercial use)Image-Conversion Applications with PNG Support: other conversion utilities.Applicationswith PNG Support: list of browsers and graphics programs thatsupport PNG.Applicationswith MNG Support: list of browsers and graphics programs thatsupport MNG.Notes on how toconfigure Microsoft IIS for PNG by Mike Schinkel of vbxtras.com. Microsoft IIS webmasters:read this document if PNG images on your site are visible from MicrosoftInternet Explorer but not from Netscape browsers. Developer InformationYou can use freely available libraries to add PNG and MNGsupport to software you create. The libraries are under a simple,non-copyleft OSI-approved free license.libmng: C library for MNG, PNG,and JNG support.libpng: Clibrary for PNG supportImageVPI provides PNG I/O for Verilog programs.Read PNG: TheDefinitive Guide by Greg Roelofs to learn how to create PNGs andwrite applications that use the PNG format. Full text is now available online.libpng.org offers free democode to learn how to write applications using PNG. Burn All Gifs GraphicsVisit Burn All GIFs Graphics for PNGgraphics you can use to show support for this site. Contact usIf you haven't actually read this page, and just like GIFsor Unisys for some reason and want to tell us all about it, pleasedon't waste your time.Webmaster: Please send any corrections orsuggestions regarding this web site to Don Marti: dmarti@zgp.org.Don MartiSilicon ValleyLinux Users Groupdmarti@zgp.orgNick MoffittEditor, Microsoft Windows Refund Newsletter GNU and Linux professional based in San Francisconick@zork.netEvan ProdromouWeb Activistevangelo@pigdog.orgChris DiBonaEditor, Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolutionchris@dibona.com408-205-6306Amy AbascalWeb Design Officer, Silicon Valley Linux Users Groupamy@iconoclast.net408-542-5741Eric S. RaymondPresident, Open Source Initiativeesr@thyrsus.com610-296-5718Ignorant people who shouldactually have read this site before mailing us: alina365@hotmail.com,Foxmillguy@aol.comPlease do not mail us at the address ronandtim@zgp.org. It feedsdirectly into an abuse reporting system and will not be read by ahuman being. |
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