ImageVice(TM) 1.0 FAQ

BoxTop Software, Inc.
101 N. Lafeyette Street
Starkville, MS 39759
(v) 1-601-324-1800
(f) 1-601-324-7352
http://www.boxtopsoft.com
ftp://ftp.boxtopsoft.com/pub
info@boxtopsoft.com


Q: Will ImageVice(TM) color reduction technology be incorporated into
PhotoGIF(TM) in the future?

No. ImageVice(TM) color reduction technology will not be added to the
PhotoGIF(TM) series of plug-ins for several reasons. The biggest one is the
computational overhead involved in ImageVice(TM) does not lend itself to
interactive function, which is desirable for format specific implementations of
color reduction where there is no second chance to undo after you have saved a
file.

Another reason is that ImageVice(TM) technology is very valuable for many
multimedia file formats, not just GIF, and PhotoGIF(TM) is a tool for one format
only.

Lastly, ImageVice(TM) technology is not at this time a general purpose color
reduction method. It can not satisfy all color reduction needs alone, making it
more sensible for it to exist as an alternate method for color reduction
implemented as a filter plug-in.


Q: Will ImageVice(TM) color reduction technology be incorporated into other
BoxTop Software, Inc. tools besides PhotoGIF(TM) in the future?

Most likely. The technology lends itself very well to implementation in
applications, with almost no memory overhead, the potential for super palette
color reduction and unequaled visual quality and file sizes. Specific plans have
not been made at this time, though.


Q: Are there any cons to using ImageVice(TM)?

Just one. It's quite slow on anything less than a PowerPC or Pentium.


Q: Can I use the ImageVice(TM) plug-in with existing palettes such as the Web
safe palette?

No. The ImageVice(TM) plug-in and ImageVice(TM)technology in general will only
perform color reduction to adaptive palettes based on the original image.


Q: Why is the demo limited to working with only certain images?

Creating a product demo is perhaps the most difficult task facing software
developers.

Ideally a product demo allows full and leisurely evaluation of all the
capabilities present in a product, while also preventing any valuable work from
being created with the demo version of the product. This last part is the
challenging bit.

It's very easy to show what a product does, but very hard to do that in such a
way provides adequate reason to purchase the product.

Time limited methods are problematic to implement reliably. Feature limited
methods do not allow evaluation of the key features, because those are the ones
that must be disabled to provide incentive to buy the product.

The ImageVice(TM) plug-in provided an opportunity to try something new in hopes
of finding a better way to make a demo version.

The demo identifies the provided test images by calculating a quick checksum and
is fully functional only with those images.

This allows a complete evaluation and comparisons to be made, but effectively
prevents valuable work prior to purchase.


Q: How do I know ImageVice(TM) will work as well for other images?

For the very reason you will find it works as well with the provided test images,
which were carefully chosen to be representative of all types of images.

The six test images were synthetically created to mix characteristics from nearly
every type of image possible. As a whole they are one very tough test suite for
any color reduction method.


Q: Who created test images?

Travis Anton, who is actually pictured in test image number four, as he appeared
circa 1994 with short hair. It's much longer now.


Q: Can I use the provided images freely?

No. They are provided for the purpose of testing and evaluating the ImageVice(TM)
plug-in only.

They can, however, be used as illustrations for reviews and articles on the
ImageVice(TM) plug-in.

If you are interested in using them for any other purpose, contact Travis Anton
at travis@boxtopsoft.com to arrange for permissions and suitable resolution
copies.


BoxTop Software, Inc.
101 N. Lafeyette Street
Starkville, MS 39759
(v) 1-601-324-1800
(f) 1-601-324-7352
http://www.boxtopsoft.com
ftp://ftp.boxtopsoft.com/pub
info@boxtopsoft.com

Sales contact:
Cindy Johnson - cindy@boxtopsoft.com

Support Contact:
Susan Brewer - susan@boxtopsoft.com

Company Contact:
Travis Anton - travis@boxtopsoft.com

Development Contact:
Richard Anton - ranton@boxtopsoft.com


ImageVice(TM) 1.0 is Copyright 1997 BoxTop Software, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
ImageVice(TM) and  PhotoGIF(TM) are Trademarks of BoxTop Software, Inc. All other
trademarks are recognized as the properties of their respective holders.

Document published: 11/10/97

Copyright 1997 BoxTop Software, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

