Don Armstrong <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> a tapoté : > >> 2) Why the gimp cannot any longer save gif files without installing >> non-free software? > > The software itself is free, but the algorithm necessary to save GIF > files (LZW) is patent encumbered in certain parts of the planet, and > the patent is actively being enforced (or at least bludgeoned.)
I am pretty aware of the details of this patent. But it was said in many places that it was possible to make GIF files without using LZW. It means that LZW is not an algorigthm necessary to save GIF files, but to get an optimum compression, which is not a priority here. Does this situation changed? <http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/gif.html> It is also possible to create GIFs using a patent-free run length encoding but this doesn't achieve the compression that one normally expects in a GIF. If not, why incitating people to get non-free stuff while you just can provide a Gimp that can save GIF without LZW? -- Mathieu Roy +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ | General Homepage: http://yeupou.coleumes.org/ | | Computing Homepage: http://alberich.coleumes.org/ | | Not a native english speaker: | | http://stock.coleumes.org/doc.php?i=/misc-files/flawed-english | +---------------------------------------------------------------------+