Re: scaning suggetions from a viewer of our site...

J. Tar (jtar@pipeline.com)
Thu, 24 Aug 1995 07:18:52 -0400

I would agree with this suggestion; however I have heard/found, etc, that
not all Web browsers have JPG viewers. For instance, I recently did a test
with JPG files and found that AOL and Pipeline users could not see my
images.... I didn't try Compuserve or Prodigy, but I suspect the same,
since these too are newer browers.

I did a bit of research and found that there is a HTM: command option for
IMG SRC called X-ALT that will allow one to specify multiple file formats
for an image tag. For instance, supposedly...I have not tested yet... one
could offer both JPG and GIF in a single command statement -- JPG first --
and if the user's browser did not support the first it would switch to the
second.

Alas, this method requires more work for the designer, since they now will
need to include both JPG and GIF; however the benefit to the viewer is
faster load times, if they have the JPG viewer. Furthermore, and not to
get too techy here, AOL has a proprietary graphic viewer and file format
called ART (distributed by ART PRESS) that will significantly speed images
for their viewers.

I am considering doing the following for my art gallery:

offer the following file formats in the following order:

JPG, ART and finally GIF

This would cover about everyone and would ensure the best performance and
most reliable coverage.

Hope this helps. I don't claim to be en expert on this, so please excuse
any inaccuracies. I can share as I learn more. 
-- 
J. Tar