
CU Online goes PNG
On the first of June, CU Amiga Online will convert totally to in-line PNG
graphics. This will enable faster access through smaller images. It will
also allow more attractive progressive displays in browsers that support
PNG progressive loading.
We're not prepared to be held back by other platforms slow adoption of the
W3 ratified standard. Demo versions of the latest browsers from Netscape
and Microsoft have been made available with no PNG support still
forthcoming. The
parties responsible for PNG have long made a portable
library available and while we apologise to those inconvienienced by this
move, we can't be held back by other platforms.
Why PNG? As many will be aware, PNG is a totally free and superior file
format to GIF. Shareware and commercial authors have been plagued by
license terms and fees payable for the GIF standard. PNG is a highly
compressed lossless 1 bit to 48 bit standard which is an excellent
cross-platform and web content file format which full deserves support of
the industry.
Here's a table of the main browsers and their PNG-ready status;
Browser
|
Platform
|
Authors
|
PNG support?
|
Plug-ins
|
AWeb |
Amiga |
Amitrix |
Amiga Datatypes |
AkPNG |
IBrowse |
Amiga |
HiSoft |
Amiga Datatypes |
AkPNG |
Voyager-NG |
Amiga |
Vapor |
Built-in |
N/A |
Netscape |
PC/Mac/Unix |
Netscape |
No, Plug-in |
Siegelgale |
Internet Explorer |
PC/Mac/Unix |
Microsoft |
Yes from 4.0b1 |
N/A |