GIF or PNG?
- Started
- Last post
- 37 Responses
- Nematoth
Anyone still using GIFs in their sites? Or is everyone converted to the now standard in most browsers PNG format?
- stewart0
why PNG ?
- Elfangio0
I still use gifS...Why not? Except with some functions in PHP...it still rocks!
- Nematoth0
apparently it is better to use PNG in almost all cases:
- Nematoth0
Anorther interesting and related article.:
http://www.atalasoft.com/PNG.asp…
I didn't know PNG was supposed to be pronounced PING either..
- rasko40
I never use png, I didn't think it was supported enough yet
- rasko40
but then, I'm not a *real* web designer
- moth0
i've never used it. and I'm a real web developer.
- Nematoth0
yeah.. neither do I .. but I tihnk I will from now on.. its supported in almost all of the browsers now:
- rabattski0
png always has been supported by browsers. just as gif. doesn't really matter. but, big but, there is a patent on the gif and i recall a big issue last year where the patent holder (forgot who that was) want to coin in on the gif. in other words software developers who work with the gif format (e.g. adobe etc) should pay a free to the patent holder hence the rush on png since it's patent free.
- rabattski0
"The compression algorithm used in the GIF format is owned by Unisys, and companies that use the algorithm are supposed to license the use from Unisys."
oh. and sorry. png wasn't always supported by all browsers back in the days although now you can safely say it is.
- ribit0
PNG seems to confuse Mac IE5.
Does anyone know of stats showing what browsers are most popular for Mac users? (ONLY mac stats)...this seems very hard to find as they usually lump all IE platforms together
- rabattski0
i used to have problems with png on mac/ie5 but that was just a mime thing. wanted to open it with the quicktime plugin. which works. but takes ages.
- jon_0
PNG is a very good format, but unfortunately ie/pc still does not support it's more advanced features like a full alpha channel.
This means that because ie/pc is still the most dominant browser that most users would either not see the graphic correctly, or sometimes not see the graphic at all.
It's especially annoying as full png support was meant to be implemented in ie4, then ie5 then ie6, but it never showed up.
- lvl_130
"PNG seems to confuse Mac IE5."
I've noticed that too. i never use pngs.
- fifty500
safari fully supports the alpha channels in PNG format, while Internet Explorer for BOTH platforms seem to merely display the PNG, ignoring the alpha channels. This is really holding us web designers back and forcing us to match our dropshadowed images to our background patterns/colours pixel-for-pixel, making the process of assembling the site take twice as long.
So, when will all browsers fully support PNG's with alpha channel support?
- moth0
More to the point, when will all browsers support standards?
- armed_rob0
I only use png's in Flash... I love the transparent option!
But I have never used it in html...? Maybe it about time???
- embarko0
then sue me?
- tomkat0
this discussion is meaningless as long as the 90+ percent users of IE won't switch.
we STILL have to design for 800x600 with 30-40 % using it.
how long do you think people will still use IE6..? add 2 yrs and then you have the date when you can safely use PNGs.
- Nairn0
Well, based on the very quick test in IE6 I've just done, I'm going to self-assuredly ignore the w3c guidelines for the moment.
Christ, I can't even really imagine giving-in to xhtml and css for another couple of years!
Long live the bodge!