Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!ucbvax!hplabs!hpfcdc!hpldola!paul
From: paul@hpldola.HP.COM (Paul Bame)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: the word "bitmap"
Message-ID: <11390015@hpldola.HP.COM>
Date: 5 Jan 89 00:20:16 GMT
References: <8568@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU>
Organization: HP Elec. Design Div. -ColoSpgs
Lines: 16


I can guess at the reason for the misuse of the word bitmap since I've
seen the same thing happen locally.  It happened when the Po--- collection
of bitmaps were posted and became popular here as X backgrounds.
People saw "pictures" on their screen which were in fact *bitmaps* in
the classic bi-level sense but the image and bitmap quickly became
synonyms - unfortunately.  When I get the time, I find a memorable
cure is to show a bitmap and an image (pixmap :-)) of the same subject
at the same time and explain the reason and terminology behind the
drastic difference in appearance.

	--Paul Bame
	HP Colorado Springs
	hplabs!hpldola!paul
	paul@hpldola.hp.com
	719 590 5557