Re: Graphics Conversion (was Re: NetScape 5)

[Joe Kohn <joko@crl.com>]

I had a few extra minutes to spare today, so I used Convert 3200 to convert
the 77 GIF graphics to 16 color SHR format. I have a stopwatch built into my
Casio wristwatch, and from the instant I double clicked on the Convert 3200
program icon until all 77 graphics were converted and saved back to my Focus
hard drive, a grand total of 10 minutes and 25 seconds elapsed.
 
Using the Calculator NDA, and dividing 77 into 625 seconds, that's an
average of 8.1 seconds for each GIF graphic to get converted and saved to
disk. 8.1 seconds!! 8.1 seconds to convert a GIF graphic to a 16 color 
Super Hi Res graphic! 8.1 seconds.
 
My IIGS has a TWGS that runs at 7 Mhz.
 
As an explanation, Convert 3200 has a Convert All option that will convert
all the graphics in a folder, with no human intervention necessary. The way
it works is that you do have to manually load in one graphic, convert it,
and then save it so that Convert 3200 knows what directory you want
converted, what you want to convert it to, and where you want to save it. In
my case, it took exactly 1 minute 30 seconds from the time I double clicked
on the Convert 3200 program icon until that one preliminary graphic was
saved to disk.
 
So, once that was done, it took 8 minutes and 55 seconds to convert the
remaining 76 graphics from GIF to SHR format.
 
I'll be very curious to see how long it takes others of you to convert that
same GIF graphic disk using other programs.
 
And, in case anyone here wants to see the converted graphics, I think I'll
just go ahead and upload the conversions too to the same ground upload
directory. That way you can see for yourself what kind of job Convert 3200
does of converting graphics, and you can check the creation times to "keep
me honest." I'll upload that as "shrdisk.shk"
 
For those of you who are curious about Convert 3200 and where to buy it, it
is available exclusively from Shareware Solutions II for all of $15, and
that includes postage to anywhere in the world. Additionally, if you're a
subscriber to Shareware Solutions II, you already know the magic words to
say to get a copy of Brutal Deluxe's LemminGS tossed in for free when you
order Convert 3200 ;-)
 
You can order Convert 3200  from:
 
Shareware Solutions II
166 Alpine St
San Rafael, CA 94901
 
There's screen shots and technical information about Convert 3200 available
at http://www.cyberstation.fr/~zardini and additional purchasing info can be
found at http://www.crl.com/~joko
 
And, bringing this back full-circle, the source code for Convert 3200 is 
also available, and both Brutal Deluxe and Shareware Solutions II would be 
more than pleased if some programmer used that source code to create a 
Netscape-like program for the IIGS. If you think about it, waiting 8 
seconds for a NetscapeGS-like program to display a GIF on screen, certainly
wouldn't cause IIGS users to complain about the 'world wide wait.' 

OK, Adalbert, your turn. Let's see how many hours it takes you to convert 
those 77 GIFs using your favorite graphics conversion program. 

Joe Kohn