This is the Message Centre for NMcCoy (attempting to standardize my username across the Internet. Formerly known as Twinkle.)
Tables for pictures
Mund Started conversation Sep 6, 2001
Oppression is the mother of invention.
I've written a program which converts JPEGs into HTML tables but - surprise, surprise! - they're a bit big (58x54 pixels = 120k of HTML). Research is required into lower colour depths and use of inline stylesheet syntax.
I've also picked up a graphics-to-text program, but a glance at my H2G2 page will illustrate its limitations.
This feels like samizdat publishing until you realise that the masters control all the photocopiers and look at every copy made.
Tables for pictures
NMcCoy (attempting to standardize my username across the Internet. Formerly known as Twinkle.) Posted Sep 7, 2001
A conversion program, finally? Excellent! 
Can I have a link to a link to it?
Tables for pictures
Mund Posted Sep 7, 2001
I'll post it when I've tried the two things on my to-do list. Then I know where I'm starting from when I start getting the suggestions and bug reports.
Tables for pictures
NMcCoy (attempting to standardize my username across the Internet. Formerly known as Twinkle.) Posted Sep 8, 2001
How would reduced color depth help?
Tables for pictures
Mund Posted Sep 8, 2001
I'm hoping that pictures with fewer colours will enable me to make much more use of COLSPAN and reduce the overall size of the HTML (currently fairly horrendous).
Having transferred the program from a laptop to a desktop I'm not seeing the right colours at all now. Bear with me a little longer.
Tables for pictures
Mund Posted Sep 11, 2001
As you can see from the first graphic on my page, the processing isn't quite right and the size of the HTML is enormous. I've had a lot of help from VB newsgroups, and I'm going to crack this one!
Tables for pictures
NMcCoy (attempting to standardize my username across the Internet. Formerly known as Twinkle.) Posted Sep 12, 2001
I don't see a graphic on your page.
Tables for pictures
Mund Posted Sep 12, 2001
Quite right. Sorry, but I removed it almost immediately because it was just too big.
Tables for pictures
Mund Posted Sep 12, 2001
I've put it back for a few hours. Back to working on the program!
Tables for pictures
Mund Posted Sep 13, 2001
Nearly there! Believe it or not, the picture at the top of my page is not me, but it shows I can pick up colours and generate a transparent background. The volume of HTML is still far too great, though - it's hard to get a reasonable picture from less than 100kb of text - but you have to close all the tabs to ensure all the browsers will render it...
Tables for pictures
NMcCoy (attempting to standardize my username across the Internet. Formerly known as Twinkle.) Posted Sep 13, 2001
We'd better watch our step though, what with the Beeb's whole copyright issue and everything. I'd hate to have them ban tables, what with them actually becoming useful and all.
Tables for pictures
Mund Posted Sep 14, 2001
Graphics withdrawn.
The program works OK, but the error checking needs strengthening. And I still don't understand fully how jpegs work (even when they become bitmaps on a program form).
Tables for pictures
NMcCoy (attempting to standardize my username across the Internet. Formerly known as Twinkle.) Posted Sep 15, 2001
I never quite understood JPEGs either. Can you do other formats too?
Tables for pictures
Mund Posted Sep 15, 2001
The program is now ready. I can't guarantee it's bug-free, but it's reasonably bomb-proof and acceptably fast on a Celeron 400 with 64Mb RAM (I'm hoping you're not a Mac user). I'm just finishing the user manual (a few pages of HTML).
I can't understand how JPEGs can be trouble even when they're sitting in a form and you'd think they were just bitmaps... I can handle JPEGs (usually), GIFs (including transparent backgrounds), ICOs (should be easy) and bitmaps (a bit more testing would be useful). WMFs are for version 2 and other things are not supported by my version of Visual Basic.
You can reach me at the writers' group referenced on my h2g2 page (use the Contact page and I'll pick it up), then I'll place the contraband somewhere you can find it.
Tables for pictures
Mund Posted Sep 20, 2001
I've placed the program on a web site. Contact me via the writers' group and I'll give you the link.
Tables for pictures
Mund Posted Sep 29, 2001
Not wanting to draw unnecessary attention, or anything, but are you still interested?
Tables for pictures
NMcCoy (attempting to standardize my username across the Internet. Formerly known as Twinkle.) Posted Sep 30, 2001
Sorry! I'm still interested, but I've been busy and I forgot. Ohay then, writers' group...
Key: Complain about this post
Tables for pictures
- 1: Mund (Sep 6, 2001)
- 2: NMcCoy (attempting to standardize my username across the Internet. Formerly known as Twinkle.) (Sep 7, 2001)
- 3: Mund (Sep 7, 2001)
- 4: NMcCoy (attempting to standardize my username across the Internet. Formerly known as Twinkle.) (Sep 8, 2001)
- 5: Mund (Sep 8, 2001)
- 6: Mund (Sep 11, 2001)
- 7: NMcCoy (attempting to standardize my username across the Internet. Formerly known as Twinkle.) (Sep 12, 2001)
- 8: Mund (Sep 12, 2001)
- 9: Mund (Sep 12, 2001)
- 10: Mund (Sep 13, 2001)
- 11: NMcCoy (attempting to standardize my username across the Internet. Formerly known as Twinkle.) (Sep 13, 2001)
- 12: Mund (Sep 14, 2001)
- 13: NMcCoy (attempting to standardize my username across the Internet. Formerly known as Twinkle.) (Sep 15, 2001)
- 14: Mund (Sep 15, 2001)
- 15: Mund (Sep 20, 2001)
- 16: Mund (Sep 29, 2001)
- 17: NMcCoy (attempting to standardize my username across the Internet. Formerly known as Twinkle.) (Sep 30, 2001)
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