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 <C> 1994 by GEnie
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<GEOS-TIM> Welcome to the I Paint and I Port Conference with  creator -
           Rick Kane.

           Tonight's conference is hosted by GEOS-TIM (Tim Hewelt)

           The Capture and editing of tonight's conference is being done by
           CBM-Bandit (Cam Stewart).Hi Cam.

<Bandit> Howdy :)

<GEOS-TIM> Special behind the scenes production and help is being provided by
           C128-QT.Pie (Sherry Freedline) Hi QT.

<Sherry> Hiya :)

<GEOS-TIM> Tonight we have a special guest.  A programmer that has created a
           program that many say is one of the most, if not the most powerful
           paint program for the C128. Let's welcome Rick Kane!!!

<Rick Kane> hi to all, glad you could make it!

<GEOS-TIM> Tonight's conference is divided into four topics.
           1) The beginnings.
           2) Features of I Paint.
           3) Features of I Port
           4) Future improvements.

           Rick, one of the more interesting questions we have been asking
           guests is how they have gotten into computing.  Could you tell us
           what drew you into computing?

<Rick Kane> Well, that's going to take me back!  The first computer I had any
            hands-on with was a TRS-80 that a roomate had after I graduated
            from college. Then got a TI-99, which had some games etc, but less
            programmable without "Extended Basic" or whatever that was. Also,
            tape loading was slow!

            I bought a C64 in late 83, and a disk drive later.  Eventually I
            needed a 128 ;) I was always too cheap to buy the simpler programs,
            and with my Compute! and later Gazette & RUN. I typed in a lot of
            stuff, even Speedscript (whew!).

<GEOS-TIM> Ah, that is a nice WP

<Rick Kane> I always liked the way Compute would have programs for various
            platforms side by side. I think I learned a lot by seeing how
            other languages or versions of Basic would handle things.

<GEOS-TIM> Looks like you've been computing for quite a while. What got you
           interested in graphic program?

<Rick Kane> I guess that stems from my job & experiences related to that. I
            worked at a TV station from 80-83, as a  videographer' (I'm not
            happy with that term.), and also ran the CG unit which supplies
            names etc. under people's faces on the news. I think it was just
            something I was GOING to be drawn to.

<GEOS-TIM> You must have gone through a lot of paint and drawing programs
           before you started programming I Paint.  What were some of them, and
           at what point did you decide that there must be a better way to do
           it?

<Rick Kane> At first I had Koala Paint, then Flexidraw ( I was going for the
            record  in # of input devices ;)

            I don't recall whether Basic 8 came out before I got a 128, but  I
            had to have it ASAP because I couldn't wait for the sharp color
            displays possible.  By this time, I certainly had GeoPaint too, but
            I wanted color & RGB!

            The Basic 8 manual had some talk of interlace, but not quite what
            we use now.  It got me exploring, screwing up VDC registers. kind
            of  the atom-smasher approach to learning hardware:)

<GEOS-TIM> I can identify with that. LOL

<Rick Kane> When Fred (bless'm) Bowen published some interlace work in TC128,
            I got really fired up.  I managed to extrapolate from his
            monochrome work and created, I believe, the first color interlaced
            display in the c128 ( a D by this time).

            It was 640 x 600, and could show SIX Doodles at once.  I took it to
            our user group to show and Loren Lovhaug (formerly of TC128) said I
            should write an article for him.

            Eventually, I firgured somebody needed to create a program to
            originate art in this new mode, so I started slugging away at what
            became I Paint-- very literally learning as I went.

<GEOS-TIM> Once you have a color interlaced display, how far is that from a
           program that can manipulate color and images?

           Were there a lot of problems to overcome?

<Rick Kane> You can do simple cutting and pasting pretty easily.  It gets
            harder to start from scratch with memory and screen management,
            pointers, etc., so that's where Basic 8 came in handy.

            I was already learning a lot about it anyway.  I had to fool it
            into doing what I wanted a lot, but at least I didn't have to
            reinvent FILL :P

<GEOS-TIM> We are about ready to go into topic 2) I Paint , where we will look
           at the features of I Paint.  Are there any questions from the
           audience at this point concerning the development of the programs?

<Sherry> Rick, IPaint was your very first programming project then?

<Rick Kane> No, there were a lot of earlier programs, but nothing anywhere
            near as big.  The next biggest thing I wrote, mostly out of
            stubbornness, since the 128 version had been released, was an 80
            column version of Speedscript 64 which used the RGB display on
            a C128.  It works in every detail, even uses fast mode, but has
            no practicle value.

<Sherry> Thanks Rick :)

<Rick Kane> I should point out, I bought the Speedscript Source book to learn
            more about machine language & look what happened! :)

<GEOS-TIM> We are glad you did, Rick. :D

           Rick, I know that I Paint has a lot of features, but what do you
           think are the most outstanding features of I Paint?

<Rick Kane> The MOST outstanding?? (Whew!)

            After the obvious, the interlaced display itself, I guess first I'd
            mention features that other programs never had any reason to have,
            such as the ability to draw on only one field of video without
            affect the other.

            This is a fast way to work with the color mixing capabilities, as
            well as do some pretty nice double-exposure effects. Also, I Paint
            has a very powerful re-color ( WASH') mode. And you can select
            drawing mode- Over (replace), With Thru (sort of transparent) and
            Mask.  They make for some pretty fascinating possibilities.

<GEOS-TIM> We keep on talking about Interlacing.  There are probably people who
           are going to read these transcripts that may not know what that is.
           Could you give us a brief explanation of interlacing?

<Rick Kane> A video display that is interlaced has picture information on  both
            video  fields'.

            A field is composed of alternate scanlines, so each field has half
            the information of the image.  Computers used to always display
            only one field, because with such discreet information you could
            view it quite well enough, and the computer only has to draw a
            field every 30th of a second, instead of the  60 per second for two
            distinct fields.

            Actually, the flicker of many interlaced screens, including I
            Paint, is due to the fact that the computer is still updating one
            field every 30th of a second, and, needing to draw two fields, it
            just lets the picture fade on the opposite field.  This field idea
            was thought up in order to MINIMIZE flicker in TV, BTW.

<GEOS-TIM> Great definition. I think I even know what it is now. LOL
           Let's say, I'm a user that has seen this conference, and I'm sold on
           I Paint. What are the minumum hardware requirement for using I
           Paint?

<Rick Kane> Good question.  You have to have a C128 with 64K of video RAM
            first of all.  This can be a C128D, or a flat C128 with upgraded
            video RAM.  It's a kit from SSI or a trip to a very good techie
            to upgrade.

            Next, you need a 1351 compatible mouse, and a monitor RGB, or  one
            of those monochrome cables to see your work on the 40 col side
            (who'd really do that, BTW?)

<GEOS-TIM> I probably would. :)

<Rick Kane> Also you need a disk drive ;) I HAVE done it LOL

<GEOS-TIM> Speaking of disk drives.what storage devices does I Paint support?

<Rick Kane> I Paint works with any CBM DOS compatible drive-- 1541,71,81, 8040,
            FSD, any CMD HD, FD or Ram device which is transparent to the OS,
            and Commodore RAMDOS on any 17xx REU.

            Did I leave any out ? ;)  In short, I Paint doesn't do anything
            nasty such as fastloaders or Copy Protection that nix certain
            devices.

<GEOS-TIM> With CMD on the cutting edge of technology, it would have to be
           supported. I would assume that I Paint supports most dot matrix
           color printers. How well does I Paint perform with the new color ink
           jets?

<Rick Kane> Absolutely! (That was me agreeing to the CMD statement) I have been
            developing new drivers to take better advantage of the output of
            the inkjets.  I wish I could show you-- I'm REALLY happy with the
            results!

            I've written a prototype driver for the Epson LQ series since it's
            emulated so often by other printers.  It's a prototype in the xxx
            that it uses dithering to get a very close match to the colors you
            see on screen.

            I'm using it with a Canon BJC4000 with beautiful results.  It will
            lead to similar drivers for 9 pin printers as well.  I got a little
            lucky-- it barely fit into the printer driver slot in I Paint!

            Another driver printers SEPs -- first a CYAN copy, then a Magenta,
            then Yellow, then Black.  I don't know if anyone needs that
            ability, but it's coming!

<GEOS-TIM> I was reading an article about I Paint in Commodore World that was
           talking about the "WITH" option, and how text could be superimposed
           on top of the current image creating a 3-D effect.  A freind of mine
           has a program with his Clone that takes fonts and creates 3-D
           effects on the fonts.

           Could a person using I Paint get this effect for signs, banners,
           etc..? Would a person using it be able to manipulate fonts?

<Rick Kane> Text is treated as graphics once it's laid down, so I Paint
            wouldn't recognize a letter as different from a sphere;  but you
            CAN do 3D types of effects by shifting a bit up&right, say, and
            typing the same  text off-axis a bit-- that would give a 3D effect.

<GEOS-TIM> Yes, that is what I wanted to know.
           Okay, I Paint is a powerful Paint program.  I am a GEOS user.  Is
           there any way they could be used together in some applications?

           Could some of GeoPaints capabilities be used  to suppliment what I
           Paint can do?

           Could some of I Paints  capabilities be used  to suppliment what
           I Paint can do?

<Rick Kane> Yes, GEOS can be a great addition to I Paint (it all depends on
            your POV ;= )

            For instance, there are many nice fonts in Geos & text
            manipulations that are unique to GEOS & would enhance many
            graphics. The stretching of Clips that GEOpaint does could be a
            handy thing.

            In order to use IPaint's features in GEOS, you are a little limited
            because GEOS can't handle IPaint's color scheme.  But if you want
            to  draw something using the full 640 pixel width, yet maintain the
            correct pixel aspect ratio, you could use IPaint in monochrome to
            draw up to 400 scanlines, then convert that to GEOS (I think
            there's a program out there that does Basic8 to GEOS, which would
            recognize IPaint format as Basic 8 in disguise )

<GEOS-TIM> I Paint saves to a Basic 8 format?

<Rick Kane> It uses the same structure as Basic 8, so that any Basic 8 viewer
            or paint program would be able to load it, BUT, the interlacing of
            the color information will get screwed up .

<GEOS-TIM> This seems like the natural borderline for our next topic: I Port.

           I Port is the program that takes the files that I Paint produces,
           and gives the user the ability to change it to a GIF?  Is that
           correct?

<Rick Kane> Yes, that is ONE of the thigs it does :)

<GEOS-TIM> What else does it do?

<Rick Kane> Actually I Port has a lot more to do with importing from other
            formats.

<GEOS-TIM> Hence, its name. :D

<Rick Kane> It will take a GIF up to 256 colors and render it onto the 640x400
            screen. It also handles IFF files up to 4096 colors,  Macpaint pix,
            GEOS, Doodle, Koala, and Printshop  (am I leaving any out ??!)

<GEOS-TIM> Basic 8

<Rick Kane> Thank you, that's right!

<GEOS-TIM> and uncompressed DOODLE

<Rick Kane> Got that

<GEOS-TIM> So, Rick, If a person was going to use another paint or drawing
           program in conjunction with I Paint, they would need to purchase I
           Port.  Is that correct?

<Rick Kane> That's probably a fair statement.

<GEOS-TIM> I notice that one of the features is the Color tables and Palette
           Equalizer. What do these features do?

<Rick Kane> The Color Tables are used in converting Doodle and GEOS pix.  For a
            given source color, you can select two of the sixteen RGB colors to
            represent that source color once it gets to IPaint.  You might find
            that you can change a shade of red, for instance, or make all light
            green come out purple!

            As for the Palette EQ, now there's an animal! ;) In short, you set
            it like a graphic equalizer to change how a picture is converted.
            You can ask for more red (a red component in the source pic will
            then be more likely to turn on the red in the IPaint); or you
            might want to try to make all lighter blues & greens turn to light
            grey, etc.

            This is a tricky control, and very powerful.  Experimenting is
            truely the only way to get a handle on it.

<Snogpitch> Does IPort have an option for printing, or must it be printed from
            IPaint?

<Rick Kane> Printing is handled by I Paint. I might sometime make a print
            utility.

<GEOS-TIM> One more feature of I Port needs to be looked at. I Port has the
           ability to compress GIF files that are made.  Up to 5 levels of
           compression are possibile.  Why does a user need 5 levels of
           compression?

<Rick Kane> <chuckle> They may not need'em all, but it was just as easy to give
            that many choices as two!  The reason you may want to select your
            level is because compressing a GIF takes a fair while.  Selecting a
            level that does less compression may save you 1/2 the time of one
            that maximizes the compression (minimizes the file size).

            A user might want to opt for max compression if they're just
            letting IPort work and walking away for a while, or let it slack
            off  if you'd rather be on to another picture file sooner.

<GEOS-TIM> Okay, I'm a user that has been at the conference, or I am reading
           the transcript and I decide I just have to have I Paint and I Port.

           Where do I have to send the order, and how much money do I have to
           send?

           Can I call and order by Phone?

<GEOS-TIM> Can I use a credit card?

<Rick Kane> You can order I Paint & I Port direct from;

            Living Proof, Ltd.
            PO Box 80714
            Minneapolis, MN 55408-8714

            The prices are IPaint-$39.95 ppd.
            I Port-$29.95 ppd.
            or both for 59.95

            Sorry, We (I) don't take phone orders or plastic.  But you can
            order from CMD if you want.

<GEOS-TIM> Now I have purchased, I Paint, and I Port.  Is there any support for
           it?  A phone # to call, a BBS, any support on GEnie?

<Rick Kane> I find the best way for me to help is mail, snail or otherwise. I
            have always uploaded bug fixes (precious few, thankfully) and
            printer drivers as they are released, and will answer any questions
            delivered by e-mail or snail mail as best I can.  Often, I'll need
            to get more info from the questioner, but that's easy with either
            mail type!

<GEOS-TIM> Rick's Email address on GEnie is R.Kane
           How often do you check your Email on GEnie?

<Rick Kane> Summers it gets a little tougher, but I try to look at least once a
            week.

<GEOS-TIM> Okay, you are actively working with I Paint and I Port.  Are there
           any improvements that you are working on that you could let us know
           about?

<Rick Kane> Well, there's a lot of ideas floating around.  For I Port, I'm
            looking at the ability to decode interlace GIF's directly to the
            screen, and maybe add PCX conversion.  Some people want JPEG, but
            they may want too much!

<GEOS-TIM> That would really be great if it could. Especially since that seems
           to be the direction files are going.

<Rick Kane> Burts read routines are in the works as well. As for I Paint,
            that's a lot stickier.  I don't want to promise things, because
            it's a ways off, since virtually everything would be rewritten.

            I'm thinking I should do a survey of users to see what's important
            to them. For instance, do I have to continue to support the Basic8
            printer drivers?  Would two powers of magnify be worth more than
            having the ability to see part of the normal-size picture at the
            same time?

            There is only so much room to work with, and yeah, and  IPaint had
            only about 400 bytes remaining available for new stuff!

<GEOS-TIM> Well, it sounds like this is going to keep you busy. The Burden that
           all C= programmers have to contend with..memory

           Well, I certainly know more about I Paint, and I Port.  I can see
           how I could use them for my graphic applications.

           Are there any questions from the audience?  I think we covered
           everything pretty well.

<Rick Kane> I think they definitly have a place in the serious graphic users'
            library!

<128PowerUser> I was just going to ask about the possiblility of importing
               JPEGS. But you may have already answered that.

<Rick Kane> I haven't done any looking into it.  I'm not sure what the demands
            would be as far as memory and processor speed.

<128PowerUser> I would like to see input drivers or support for the
               handyscanner and videodigitizer. These would greatly enhance
               Ipaints usefulness.

<Rick Kane> Good point!  This is an area where there is much to be done.

<128PowerUser> Animation would be another interesting thing to play with.
               If you had the ability.

<Rick Kane> Well, the VDC is slow to access, but by decreasing screen size anbd
            buffering frames in VDC RAM, some fun would be sure to follow!

<128PowerUser> It would most definatly require a ram device for full
               effectiveness.

<GEOS-TIM> I want to thank everyone for coming.   And I would like to thank
           Rick Kane for being so informative. And for being such a talented
           programmer. I Paint fills a need in the Commodore community.

           Thank you Rick

<Rick Kane> Thank you, TIM, you do a great job w/ these conferences.  Glad to
            be here.

<GEOS-TIM> We are going into open conference mode

<128PowerUser> Oh, I would still like to see a free-form or lasso clip ability
               in Ipaint.

<Rick Kane> That's a big order Tom, but you know that ;)

<GEOS-TIM> I'm surprised what our programmers are coming up with for the C=
           platform. It is just incredible

<128PowerUser> But I think you can do it! Berkeley was planning on using it in
               geopaint on the 128.

<Rick Kane> It can be done, it's just a matter of alloting resources (time)!

<GEOS-TIM> Yes, Time is the problem If only someone could make a living just
           doing commodore programming. lol