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Doom Editing Digest Vol. 01 Nr. 115
From: owner-doom-editing-digest
To: doom-editing-digest@nvg.unit.no
Subject: doom-editing-digest V1 #115
Reply-To: doom-editing
Errors-To: owner-doom-editing-digest
Precedence: bulk
doom-editing-digest Tuesday, 10 January 1995 Volume 01 : Number 115
Re: Bad news for all programmers - using GIF means $$$!
Re: Bad news for all programmers - using GIF means $$$!
WinDEU (was: Re: Bad news for all programmers - using GIF means $$$!)
Re: Bad news for all programmers - using GIF means $$$!
DeuTex 3.1: all versions available now!
Doom2 Editors
Re: Doom2 Editors
Re: Bad news for all programmers - using GIF means $$$!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Stephen Kersley <STEVE@argonaut.com>
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 10:05:46 GMT
Subject: Re: Bad news for all programmers - using GIF means $$$!
> I have some bad news. On Dec 29th, 1994, Compu$erve who owns the patent
> for the GIF format has decided that from now on, all programs that use
> this image format must acquire a license from them. Programmers who want
> to obtain this license will have to pay royalties which amount to 1.5
> percent of the price or $0.15 for each copy of the program, whichever is
> the _greater_.
Does this apply to freeware stuff? Since the price is $0, both royalties
calculating methods amount to $0 (assuming it is $0.15 for each copy _sold_)
>
> This effectively kills all freeware and most shareware programs using the
> GIF format and the LZW technology for image compression!
Do Compu$erve own the patent on LZW compression too? I thought that was
completely public domain - isn't it used on loads of other non-image related
compression?
I guess its time to find a new image format, or create a new one. <Sigh>
Steve.
- --
Steve Kersley. Assistant network services manager & postmaster.
Argonaut Software Ltd and MultiMedia Technologies Ltd.
Tel: +44 (0)181 200 5777 / (0)181 200 xxxx Fax: +44 (0)181 200 9866
------------------------------
From: dmoore@reed.edu (Dave Moore)
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 95 4:07:51 PST
Subject: Re: Bad news for all programmers - using GIF means $$$!
> > I have some bad news. On Dec 29th, 1994, Compu$erve who owns the patent
> > for the GIF format has decided that from now on, all programs that use
> > [snip]
> > This effectively kills all freeware and most shareware programs using the
> > GIF format and the LZW technology for image compression!
>
> Do Compu$erve own the patent on LZW compression too? I thought that was
> completely public domain - isn't it used on loads of other non-image related
> compression?
> I guess its time to find a new image format, or create a new one. <Sigh>
>
I believe Compu$erve is making this move precisely because it does
NOT own the patent. Unisys, the actual patent holder on the
algorithm, is currently gouging Compu$erve itself for a goodly amount
of cash, according to an article posted to the 'Net recently.
Apparently Comp. is going to pass that along to programmers, relying
on the popularity of the format to make it stick...
...Dave
- --
Dave Moore - Student at Large - Reed College
dmoore@reed.edu - http://www.reed.edu/~dmoore/
--=---=--
------------------------------
From: eedraq@chapelle.eed.ericsson.se (Raphael Quinet)
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 95 15:58:52 +0100
Subject: WinDEU (was: Re: Bad news for all programmers - using GIF means $$$!)
Chris Campbell (ME) (ccampbel@suntan.eng.usf.edu) wrote:
>
> Why can't I find WinDEU? I looked at ftp.montefiore.ulg.ac.be in
> /pub...There is no DOOM or DOOM2 directory! Anywhere at this site!
>
Of course! Please use the correct address before complaining: it's
ftp2.montefiore.ulg.ac.be. Note the "2"... The other ftp server
contains serious stuff. You are not interested in that, unless you
are a researcher. :-)
- -Raphael
------------------------------
From: eedraq@chapelle.eed.ericsson.se (Raphael Quinet)
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 95 16:27:58 +0100
Subject: Re: Bad news for all programmers - using GIF means $$$!
Dave Moore (dmoore@reed.edu) wrote:
[...]
> I believe Compu$erve is making this move precisely because it does
> NOT own the patent. Unisys, the actual patent holder on the
> algorithm, is currently gouging Compu$erve itself for a goodly amount
> of cash, according to an article posted to the 'Net recently.
> Apparently Comp. is going to pass that along to programmers, relying
> on the popularity of the format to make it stick...
>
According to the latest news, Unisys gets 1% of the price of the licenced
products. In an official statement, they also said that they would not
charge anything for freeware programs. Normally, Compu$erve should have the
same policy now.
So that's good news for all of us. Freeware programs using the GIF format
are not dead. And DEU can have GIF support (but I will add support for
other formats too, just in case...).
Now let's stop this discussion and go back to Doom-editing... :-)
- -Raphael
------------------------------
From: Olivier Montanuy <montanuy@LANNION.cnet.fr>
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 19:29:47 +0100
Subject: DeuTex 3.1: all versions available now!
Hello Doomers!
The DOOM and HERETIC PWAD composer DeuTex 3.1, and the
PWAD merger/ sprite and flat completer DeuSF 3.1 have been compiled
on all reasonable DOOM platforms except Next.
You will find the files on ftp.cdrom.com pub/heretic/NEWSTUFF
or on ftp.enst.fr incoming/doom
Supported: DOS, DOS+GO32, SGIx, Dec Alpha (for fun),
SUN O/S (Sparc), Linux, OS/2.
files: deutex31.*.zip
And now try the new shell for DeuTex, under Windows, vbdtex31.zip.
It's still a beta, but it kicks some asses, in it's own way.
(Don't expect miracles from a Visual Basic tool!)
All these versions come with a manual, by HevKev.
Have fun,
Olivier Montanuy,
author of DeuTex/DeuSF
------------------------------
From: "Tim Hawkins" <Tim.Hawkins@specastro.com>
Date: 9 Jan 1995 13:19:49 -0800
Subject: Doom2 Editors
1.20 1/9/95
Could someone please recommend an editor for doom2.
I'm just getting in to creating wads and would like any insight from those
already into it. Also, has anybody done anything (editor-wise) with descent? I
realize this is a relatively new product but thought I would ask anyway.
Tim Hawkins
tim.hawkins@specastro.com
------------------------------
From: Matt Ayres <ayres@cdrom.com>
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 14:17:01 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Re: Doom2 Editors
On 9 Jan 1995, Tim Hawkins wrote:
> 1.20 1/9/95
>
> Could someone please recommend an editor for doom2.
> I'm just getting in to creating wads and would like any insight from those
> already into it. Also, has anybody done anything (editor-wise) with descent? I
> realize this is a relatively new product but thought I would ask anyway.
For Doom 1, Doom 2, and Heretic map editing, try WADED v1.72. You can
find it at ftp.cdrom.com/pub/doom/wad_edit/waded/waded172.zip.
For Descent map editing, you'll have to wait a little bit. Parallax
software is not releasing their editor, but they will be releasing the
specs on map editing. The specs aren't out, and I'm eagarly awaiting
them. I'm working on a 3D viewer/editor. So far all it does is view the
vertices. We (people reverse engineering Descent) don't know too much about
the DESCENT.HOG file yet, but what we do know can be found at
ftp.cdrom.com/pub/descent/incoming/udspec01.zip ... unofficial descent specs.
-Matt A.
------------------------------
From: Christopher Wise <WISE@eng2.eng.monash.edu.au>
Date: Tue, 10 Jan 1995 10:14:50 GMT+1100
Subject: Re: Bad news for all programmers - using GIF means $$$!
> According to the latest news, Unisys gets 1% of the price of the licenced
> products. In an official statement, they also said that they would not
> charge anything for freeware programs. Normally, Compu$erve should have the
> same policy now.
>
> So that's good news for all of us. Freeware programs using the GIF format
> are not dead. And DEU can have GIF support (but I will add support for
> other formats too, just in case...).
I have heard that the Unisys patent only applies to the LZW encoding
algorithm not for decoding. If this is the case then programs that
only read GIF's should be exempt from any charges.
Chris Wise
------------------------------
End of doom-editing-digest V1 #115
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