This message I just received looks relevant to the newsgroup:
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 94 12:57:21 EST
From: Russell Malmberg <russell at dogwood.botany.uga.edu>
Message-Id: <9403231757.AA13867 at dogwood.botany.uga.edu>
To: rd at mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk
Subject: Acedb, xv, 256 colors
Status: R
This is something that I ran across, and I thought it
might interest you since Acedb uses xv as an image
viewer.
Recently I've started using an Xwindows package to
connect from my DOS-MS-Windows PC to the UNIX server
on which the database is installed, (aatdb in this case).
I had problems viewing color images on my pc using the
xv program, either directly or through Acdb-aatdb.
I discussed this with the company that made my Xwin package
(MicroXwin from starnet, demo version on internet as
"xwindemo")
They maintain that there is a problem with xv and more than
256 colors over this kind of linkage. They sent me a FAQ
that indicated it was something about depth 24 and 32 bits
per pixel - I didn't understand it.
So, I can get nice images this way if I configure my video
driver and monitor to 256 colors, instead of my standard
65,000 colors.
This might happen more in the future since:
-- there are more people with PC-Xwindows pacages.
-- currently available Windows-DOS systems come
standard with powerful video drivers that
are built for 65,000 or 16.7 million colors.
These are easily re-configurable to 256 colors,
by clicking a button and re-starting windows.
So: If someone writes you and indicates more or less that
they are getting a blank window for an image, or one with
weird fuzzy lines -- and they are using an Xwindows to
PC program -- you might advise them to switch to 256 colors.
I'm not an expert on any of this. Its just what's happened
to me so far in trying to use this snazzy linkage to f run
Acedb -- aatdb.
Russell Malmberg
russell at dogwood.botany.uga.edu
