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ASCII Art ALT alternative

quicker downloading for people on slow connections
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A browser add in option which tells the remote server if you just want ASCII art versions of the pictures on a website, rather than the real ones. The web server handles this on the fly, sending out either standard jpgs/gifs or their ASCII art equivalents dynanamically.
neilp, Oct 21 2003

Progressive JPEG http://wp.netscape....demo/pjpegdemo.html
For [inc] [Worldgineer, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Apple QT->Ascii art converter http://developer.ap...iePlayerSample.html
Bring back the glory days of ASCII art with ASCIIMoviePlayer! This sample demonstrates using a MovieDrawingCompleteProc to render a QuickTime movie in the Mac OS X Terminal [Dub, Sep 16 2005]

[link]






       There must be a more efficient compression technique than ascii art. Even the most overly compressed JPEGs give you better resolution.
Worldgineer, Oct 21 2003
  

       Maybe a thumbnail generator - instead of loading the whole picture, the server automatically generates a thumbnail from the image when it is first uploaded - all computers would have a speed rating and anything below a certain rating would link to the thumbnail first - that way you download a 30Kb JPEG rather than a 300Kb one. After viewing the thumbnail you can decide if you want to see the full picture. This is a pet annoyance of mine as I have a 56k connection in Australia...words can't describe...
inc_b, Oct 21 2003
  

       [ib] Luckily, this concept exists almost exactly. JPEGs can be optionally be saved as "progressive" JPEGs. This means as an image is downloaded you first get a very low resolution image, then it refines itself a few times as the download continues.
Worldgineer, Oct 21 2003
  

       I wanted to do this because ASCII art is just more amusing, and I want the choice, rather than my browser just using the bandwidth, even if it's throttled using progressive images.
neilp, Oct 21 2003
  

       // you just want ASCII art versions of the pictures on a website //   

       Under what possible circumstance would this be desirable?
waugsqueke, Oct 21 2003
  

       ASCII art could more easily be converted to "tactile imaging" for the blind using those toys having sliding metal pins that you press your face into.
Tiger Lily, Oct 21 2003
  

       Sorry, jutta, for being overly simplistic in my annotation. I wasn't suggesting comlex three dimensional contours, I only meant to suggest the assimilaton of shapes and outlines and of proportions between objects. Just two dimensional images, much like the appearance of some of those in Rods Tiger's link.
Tiger Lily, Oct 21 2003
  
      
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