Ansel is Duchesne Brick and Block's first major product, a full-featured image editing and analysis program. The current release (1.0b1) is little more than the public domain program NIH Image with a colorful coat of paint; this will change over time.
This is the only public beta planned; the rest will be delayed until the program is more or less feature-complete. Intervening releases will be password-protected; the password will be distributed by email to registered beta testers.
The following features are planned for the final 1.0 release:
-Online documentation using AppleGuide
-Improved text handling, including >32k and double-byte language support via WASTE
-Basic AppleScript support--the hooks have been added; it's just a Small Matter of Programming
-More plugins and scripts...
I am also looking for the following:
-There are legal restrictions on the Fast Fourier Transform code used in NIH Image. If anyone testing this knows where I might find some FFT code that isn't encumbered by patent restrictions, please let me know.
-Anyone willing to donate the use of a late-model PowerTower or the like gets free registration and a source license. Not much, perhaps, but there's also some MkLinux work I want to do that you could get some action on too...
-Pointers to different Photoshop plugins would be good too. Free registration for anyone whose plugin I use...
-Suggestions for different features are always welcome.
Things to know:
-One thing Ansel has that Image doesn't is a clumsily executed splashscreen. Just click it to make it go away.
-The default color table is 256 grays. An attempt to fix it to use the system CLUT corrupted the application CLUT, and the offending code was removed.
-Even minimal external scripting is so far nonexistent. The hooks are there; it's just a matter of figuring out how to implement a DoScript event. Eventually a full AppleScript object model will be put in place, and the scripting language will be migrated out to an OSA component; this is, however, distant future.
-The documentation is essentially identical to the NIH Image docs and should be considered preliminary. It is in ClarisWorks 4 format and most of the pictures are not synced with the actual app.
For further information, contact
Brian Connors
Duchesne Brick and Block
115 Farnham St
Belmont, MA 02178
Thank you for your help. You will be contacted when things develop.
