by Owen J. Mortensen <70004.1601@CompuServe.COM>
17 Jan 1995 20:00:23 GMT via CompuServe Information Service to
Newsgroups:
comp.compression,comp.graphics,comp.infosystems.www.users
Over the past two weeks, there has been considerable discussion related to the GIF graphics format specification, resulting from the fact that the GIF specification designed by CompuServe contained proprietary LZW compression technology. However, CompuServe remains committed to the continued free interchange of online graphics. For this reason, we will be offering our resources to develop a follow-on specification to GIF that will offer significant enhancements and be free and open.
CompuServe is announcing that we will coordinate the development of GIF24, a successor to GIF capable of 24-bit lossless compression. CompuServe is committed to keeping GIF24 as an open specification, available without cost. This effort will also avoid a proliferation of standards. The new specification will be developed in cooperation with the graphics community and will include a review of relevant technology and intellectual property issues.
In keeping with these goals, we are soliciting input from key GIF users such as: commercial graphics vendors; the CompuServe GO GRAPHICS Forum community; Internet communities including the World Wide Web, and bulletin board developers and users. As the first step in this process, we have been interacting privately with many people who have offered constructive input on GIF via CompuServe and the Internet.
As the next step, we have established an e-mail address for public input regarding GIF24. Suggestions can go to: GIF24@csi.compuserve.com when sending from the Internet, or CSI:GIF24 when sending from CompuServe. We invite suggestions of design goals for GIF24 as well as technologies to be considered for use in the new specification. In addition, we solicit nominations of community representatives who will be invited to participate in developing GIF24 as an open standard.
CompuServe wishes to acknowledge the contributions of the online community to the ongoing GIF discussion, and we look forward to further input. Based on the response to this announcement, we will shortly provide a synopsis of initial design goals for GIF24, an initial list of nominees to participate in the development, and further details on the development process.
Thank you for your time and input.
Sincerely,
Tim Oren CompuServe vice president, Future Technology
The above was published by CompuServe on January 17,1995. It is stored at