From: skip@tacky.cs.olemiss.edu (Skip Sauls)
Subject: Re: IFF database of .advocacy folks
Organization: University of Mississippi, Dept. of Computer Science
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1992 15:42:06 GMT

In article <1992Sep6.231647.19845@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de> mlelstv@specklec.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de (Michael van Elst) writes:
>95754.28910@
>Sender: news@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
>Organization: Max-Planck-Institut f"ur Radioastronomie
>Lines: 44
>Nntp-Posting-Host: specklec
>
>In <1992Sep6.195754.28910@ra.msstate.edu> skip@tacky.cs.olemiss.edu (Skip Sauls) writes:
>>the user a choice of a few ugly colors.  In the text mode, CGA did
>>support 8 colors plus 8 more when the intensity bit was set.
>
>Ah, ok. Then my 15 colors were limited to text mode. (Only 15 since
>black + intensity still resulted in black).

If you ever used a Tandy 1000 (barf), Commodore Colt, IBM PCJr (gag),
or one of the other SuperCGA equipped machines, you may have indeed
been able to use 16 colors.  The black + intensity actually resulted
in dark grey and the SuperCGA palette is similar to if not identical
to the standard EGA palette.

>>programming PCs, but use the Amiga for image processing.  The goofy
>>non-square aspect ratio really sucks when you are trying to draw
>>something that is going to be displayed on VGA/SVGA.
>
>I personally never had problems with non-square pixels. But then I don't
>draw my pics but compute them. Distorting images for different aspect
>ratios and resolutions is part of our standard software.

We typically scan pictures on a PC in 256 colors, ftp the files over to
the Amiga, import the PCX pics using ADPro, save them as 16 color IFF,
manipulate them with ADPro, ImageMaster, DeluxePaint, etc., then go in
the reverse direction back to the PC.  ADPro and other software can adjust
for the different aspect ratios, but the images look really bad most of
the time.

BTW, if anyone suggests that we use PC software, we've tried and it is
simply not suitable for our work.  The version of DeluxePaint for the
PC is a couple of generations behind what we use now.  There are a few
other packages, but most run under Windows and that makes it impossible
for us to use it.  How is it that a Windows program on a 486-50 with
a Tseng board feels so much slower than an Amiga A3000?  Both machines
are using 640x480 16 color displays, but the 486 is a real dog.  Please
keep in mind that I'm talking about the response time of the paint
programs, not how fast windows are redrawn and that sort of thing.

>>the Amiga's monitor to display sqare pixels, but it means living with
>>the half-line flicker.
>Try BlackBorder to get rid of the half line (or use PAL).

I had an old version of this a while back, but my machine didn't seem
to like it.  Someone just sent me another version via email and it seems
to be working well.  Is it possible to turn the border off on all screens?

>>I'd bet that AA is going to be superior to SVGA except for displaying
>>really high-res graphics.  However, if there is ever a SVGA LocalBus
>>standard, the Amiga may not look so hot even with the AA chipset.
>
>Hmm, not so sure. LocalBus has some potential but everything above AA
>is currently expensive.

After next week we'll probably start hearing about the AAA chipset...

>>I just hope that more software will support it.  There is still a
>>tendancy for many applications to open their own screen using the
>>size and depth that they want.  The end-user should have ultimate
>>control over this, not the application programmer.  Also, every
>
>Yep, but more software also clones the workbench settings. 2.1 gives
>lots of opportunities to use the users preferences. But you are right,
>there is still a lot of work to do (for the app programmers).

I agree that it is getting much better, but I still wish that all
software adhered to the standards.  ADPro, ImageMaster, DeluxePaint,
and other applications are very nice, but none of them obey the C=
guidelines.  They may believe that they have a good enough reason to
break the rules, but it does not help matters.

>Regards,
>-- 
>Michael van Elst
>UUCP:    universe!local-cluster!milky-way!sol!earth!uunet!unido!mpirbn!p554mve
>Internet: p554mve@mpirbn.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
>                                "A potential Snark may lurk in every tree."

Skip Sauls
skip@tacky.cs.olemiss.edu




Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy