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From: chuq@sun.uucp (Chuq Von Rospach; Lord of the OtherRealms)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: The "Next Mac"
Message-ID: <5963@sun.uucp>
Date: Fri, 8-Aug-86 12:00:35 EDT
Article-I.D.: sun.5963
Posted: Fri Aug  8 12:00:35 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 10-Aug-86 20:13:22 EDT
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> I was reading an post on the local bulletin board that rumored Apple had come
> up with an algorithm for shrinking paint documents in a 31:1 ratio.  Imagine
> a 31K picture saved as 1K on disk.  Wow.

Wow is right.  The rumor is almost definitely wrong.  Compression technology
of a random bitstream is lucky to get 50% compaction. The compress program
used for passing news around averages between 35% and 45%.

This may be a "best case" compression, something unrealistic like a Macpaint
image of all white or black pixels (neither of them very useful).  I doubt
seriously they can get even close to that on a normal bitmap.  Think about
it logically -- a 31:1 ratio implies that each bit in the compressed file
needs to hold information to recreate 31 other bits.  Not very realistic.

> Gray scales?  Really?  I was thinking a while ago that if they didnt come out
> with a color display, at least they could develop a mac with real grays and
> shadings.  Imagine the quality of digitized images!  Any truth to this?

The Dvorak rumor mill has come up with this one.  Lots of people who have
signed non-disclosures giggle at Dvorak, but can't say anything more. The
rumor was NOT for a Mac, but for the first in a new family of computers that
would not neccesarily be Mac compatible, but would be the first Unix based
machine.  I wouldn't hold my breath for it.

chuq
-- 
Chuq Von Rospach	chuq%plaid@sun.COM	 CompuServe: 73317,635
		{decwrl,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!sun!plaid!chuq

	O how they cling and wrangle, some who claim
	Of Brahamana and recluse the honoured name!
	For, quarrelling, each to his view they claim,
	Such folk see only one side of a thing.
		-- Buddha -- The Elephant and the Blind Men