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From: mingo@cup.portal.com (Charles Hawkins Mingo)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: BAD NEWS FOR MAC -> NEXT PEOPLE
Message-ID: <36481@cup.portal.com>
Date: 3 Dec 90 05:27:22 GMT
References: <1040@toaster.SFSU.EDU>
  <SCOTT.90Dec1000708@mcs-server.gac.edu> <36428@cup.portal.com>
  <1990Dec1.235150.19722@santra.uucp>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
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jmunkki@hila.hut.fi (Juri Munkki) writes: 

>Tough luck. PICT 2 could be read with the documentation in IM V, except
>that there is no documentation on pixel maps are packed and stored (if
>they are packed). So unless you know how they are stored, you can't have
>pixel maps.

	Check out Tech Note 171:  "Things you want to know about PackBits"
for a discussion of how PICT2 packs bits.
> 
>The latest thing is 32 bit QuickDraw. I don't have the documentation
>for that, but I seem to remember that it had some new things to add
>to PICT 2.

	The QuickDraw Release notes and Tech Note 275 document it fairly
completely.

	I do agree with you observation that PICT's are really for Mac's only:
in order to interpret them you either need to have a Mac ROM present (to 
supply the routines), or emulate the ROM routines (not easy to do well).
Apple doesn't like the idea of people cloning bits of the ROM (even legally).