Window Backgrounds
I got up really late today, and can't fall asleep now. I went to the gym yesterday for weights and as a result, I'm really sore now. But I like the soreness...I haven't had a good workout in a long time. I'm so cheap though, because I still go to CIF, Waterloo's nice and new gym facility. My roomate Aaron came along too so I don't feel so bad. Anway I feel like writing about something now....even if it is boring to almost everyone.
Did you ever wonder why the background for Windows always had to be a bitmap? In the past, when you wanted to use a jpg, you'd have to turn on Web Desktop and I think the IE engine would render the picture. In more recent version, you could select jpgs, but Windows would always create a bmp copy and display that as the background.
(If you don't believe me check out the directory: C:\Documents and Settings\%Username%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft Where %Username% is your Windows username. There should be a bitmap image there called Wallpaper1 or something. Each time you change to a different jpg background this file should also change.)
Anyway, for Microsoft's new version of Windows, named Vista, they decided to allow jpgs as the native format for desktop wallpaers. It turns out there is a bug when they resize the picture for your monitor's resolution (they use a linear interpolation technique) which results in pictures with ass quality.
Check out the link to see the difference. There's a good description of the problem and various ways they came up with to fix it. At the last minute before release, they decided to insert this cosmetic fix, and this blog post outlines the difficulties encountered. It's a good account of the process that happens when you try to rush a last minute fix in. Even though this fix is purely cosmetic, it adds a lot to the overall quality of the product. Now, if Linux made itself beautiful and more functional, I'd consider trying it out!
Did you ever wonder why the background for Windows always had to be a bitmap? In the past, when you wanted to use a jpg, you'd have to turn on Web Desktop and I think the IE engine would render the picture. In more recent version, you could select jpgs, but Windows would always create a bmp copy and display that as the background.
(If you don't believe me check out the directory: C:\Documents and Settings\%Username%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft Where %Username% is your Windows username. There should be a bitmap image there called Wallpaper1 or something. Each time you change to a different jpg background this file should also change.)
Anyway, for Microsoft's new version of Windows, named Vista, they decided to allow jpgs as the native format for desktop wallpaers. It turns out there is a bug when they resize the picture for your monitor's resolution (they use a linear interpolation technique) which results in pictures with ass quality.
Check out the link to see the difference. There's a good description of the problem and various ways they came up with to fix it. At the last minute before release, they decided to insert this cosmetic fix, and this blog post outlines the difficulties encountered. It's a good account of the process that happens when you try to rush a last minute fix in. Even though this fix is purely cosmetic, it adds a lot to the overall quality of the product. Now, if Linux made itself beautiful and more functional, I'd consider trying it out!
posted by Nelson at 1:24 AM
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