Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!apple!motcsd!dms!rotberg
From: rotberg@dms.UUCP (Ed Rotberg)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: bitmaps
Message-ID: <1241@dms.UUCP>
Date: 6 May 91 16:04:21 GMT
References: <1509@irit.irit.fr>
Organization: Atari Games Inc., Milpitas, CA
Lines: 36

From article <1509@irit.irit.fr>, by pfeiffer@deva.irit.fr (Daniel Pfeiffer):
 
> All those different bitmap formats!!!
> xwd creates one format, bitmap another, then there are TIFF files,
> Macpaint files and who knows what else...
> Are there any utilities to convert one format to another, especially
> xwd and Macpaint to TIFF?  Please don't send any pointers to ftp
> sites, I can't access them.

Although it is not generally available yet, I have been test a program called
deBabelizer for quite sometime now.  It not only will convert back and forth
between many recognized Mac formats, but also will convert freely between
MANY graphic formats used on other systems (IBM PCs, Suns, Amigas, Atari STs,
Apple IIs, C-64s, EPSF, TIFF, GIFF, and MANY MORE...).  The best part about
the way the conversions are done is that each format is handled by an external
pair of input/output moudles, making the program easliy extensible to to other
formats and allowing update to format readers/writers without having to
upgrade the entire program - i.e. at lower cost.  In addition to this,
the program does tons of processing such as intelligent color reduction to
any number of colors, remapping to specific palletes, creating "super palletes"
from multiple separate grphics files, removing background colors (useful when
working with digitized images), scaling, rotating, trimming, color printing,
conversion of separate R, G, & B black and white images into a single color
image, batch processing, a very advanced scripting option which, in
conjunction with batch processing allows you to convert and process a large
group of files effortlesly, and a TON of other features.

It is currently being seeded in beta form to game developers (obvious reasons)
and site licences are available.  The program should be avaiable to the
consumer market later this year and I believe the price will be under $200.
If you do any significant work with graphics/scanning/conversion, this program
is a MUST HAVE.

It will be published by a company in Marin called Equilibrium.

	 - Ed Rotberg -