SoylentNews

canopic jug [soylentnews.org] writes:

Stephen Wilhite, known for having created GIF in the 1980s, has died [theverge.com]. He was 74.

Although GIFs are synonymous with animated internet memes these days, that wasn’t the reason Wilhite created the format. CompuServe introduced them in the late 1980s [w3.org] as a way to distribute “high-quality, high-resolution graphics” in color at a time when internet speeds were glacial compared to what they are today. “He invented GIF all by himself — he actually did that at home and brought it into work after he perfected it,” Kathaleen said. “He would figure out everything privately in his head and then go to town programming it on the computer.”

While apparently mostly known for short, silent animations and video clips these days, GIF is actually quite well-suited to logos, charts, diagrams, and maps with its very small size and (if done correctly) lack of compression artifacts.

Previously:
(2021) The Brave New World of Big Tech Antitrust Enforcement [soylentnews.org]
(2020) Jif Peanut Butter Weighs in on GIF Pronunciation -- Runs Contrary to Historical Evidence [soylentnews.org]
(2017) Epilepsy-Triggering Suspect Charged, More Details on the Arrest [soylentnews.org]

Original Submission