If you were old enough to use the World Wide Web then, you might remember the “ Under Construction” GIFs adorning nearly every new website on the internet. In the early days of the internet, custom writing services weren’t a thing, and website owners never dreamed they’d need to buy articles to declare the launch of their site. The end result was essentially a digital flipbook that used the same still image, just ever so slightly changed, on each repeating “page” to create a looping video that presented as a single image. What made the protocol unique, however, is that it identified repeating patterns, simplified them and then compressed them without trimming any of the original image’s data. Initially, LZW was used almost exclusively for the compression and transfer of still images. To create a format that would accomplish CompuServe’s objectives, Wilhite used a compression practice called Lempel-Ziv-Welch. What CompuServe users needed to transfer, however, were less detailed images, such as weather maps, stock quotes and graphs - simple images that would lose their meaning if distorted even in the slightest. Though JPEG is a still favored file format today, it is best for photographs that contain high amounts of detail and that can withstand slight distortion. At the time that CompuServe tasked Wilhite with creating the compressed format, JPEG was well under construction. You may wonder why Trevor couldn’t have just relied on the JPEG. Introducing Lempel-Ziv-Welch Compression Protocol He found a way to do so with a compression algorithm, which he dubbed the Graphics Interchange Format. So, to recap: Wilhite needed to create super small files that users could transfer from device to device without taking up too much memory and while preserving the quality of the image. What this meant was that for users to share images of quality, they needed to share super tiny files. Today, the average broadband connection is 40,000 times faster than that era’s fastest connection. The average speed, however, was just 300 baud. (Remember the dial-up days?) In the late ’80s, a “high speed” dial-up connection was 1,200 baud. The second problem Trevor wanted Wilhite to solve was image quality. Despite how each brand chose to display graphics, all users shared a universal problem: space. Each company had its own way of doing things, including displaying graphics.
#On to the next one gif Pc
The first was that CompuServe - an early online service that provided hourly subscriptions to users who needed to access email and a way to transfer files - needed a simple graphics format that would seamlessly display across all computers.īack in the early days of the computer, the PC market was split between several companies, including IBM, Atari, Commodore, Tandy and Apple. Sandy Trevor, Wilhite’s boss at CompuServe, needed the programmer to solve two major problems for him. In fact, the internet hadn’t even been born yet. Yet, when Wilhite was tasked by his employer, CompuServe, to create the GIF back in 1986, bringing “fun” to the internet was not exactly what the tech company had in mind. Regardless of the tone of a file, GIFs have a way of adding an element of fun to just about any custom writing or social media post.
Today’s GIFs run the gamut from simple to advanced, and from downright goofy to educational, with many falling well into the “satirical” category. If you have trouble remembering that, think of Wilhite’s moniker, which references the once-popular JIF commercial: “Choosy developers choose GIF.” And three, it’s “ graphic-ical interchange format,” not “ germ-ical interchange format.” For one, it alleviates confusion between the cute little films and the peanut butter brand. Although you pronounce “graphic” with a hard “g,” the inventor of the GIF, Steve Wilhite, is adamant that you pronounce GIF with a soft “g,” as in “jiffy.” Don’t feel bad if you’ve been pronouncing it incorrectly, or if you continue to do so, as there are several reasons people of the internet prefer the hard “g” approach. How, then, did these short looping animations transcend their obscure ’80’s roots and become a fundamental offering in today’s communications? Who created the GIF? What is GIF short for? Read on to find out.įirst, let’s discuss the GIF pronunciation. In fact, not many people know the history of the GIF, but it’s is a whopping 30 years old, with the first one predating the internet itself. Short for “Graphics Interchange Format,” the GIF has exploded in recent years and is now an integral part of digital day-to-day communications. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 10 years, chances are you’re familiar with the GIF.
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