> On Thu, 18 Jul 1996, Peter Meric wrote:
>
> Obviously you know something about fractal IMAGE compression. There is such a
> thing as fractal DATA compression too!!! It is only hard to imagine because
> you can't visualise it. It has been successfully been used before - I have
> heard of a game (can't remember the name) which used fractal DATA
> compression to store all the adventures you could go on.
Yes, I can imagine compressing data fractally (I don't have to visualise
it), however I still don't see how that negates the argument I have been
putting forward. You can't use fractal compression effectively on data
that isn't fractal in nature. All the examples you have given me
(including that game) are specific instances where fractal compression is
appropriate. Using fractal compression in these instances is a good
example of choosing the correct algorithm for the application. However,
that does not mean that fractal compression is the general answer for all
your compression needs.
Again it boils down to the issue that not all things have a fractal
nature. I'm not saying this out of blind faith, but because I have some
idea of what it means to say "X is fractal". If you can point out to me
how a dictionary is fractal, then I will admit that it can be compressed
well. If you can't then I will have to retain the opinion that it won't
be.
> I don't know why you want to make it hard for me to give information to you.
> To answer one of your questions, I am an Earthling.
Ignored.
> For the rest of you who are interested and want to see an example of fractal
> IMAGE compression at a ratio of 100:1 without downloading any new software,
> there is an example at:
>
> http://www.mitsubishi.co.jp/jp/fractal/perfor.html
>
> It shows you two images - the first one was compressed with JPEG and the
> second was compressed with fractal compression. Both were compressed at a
> rate of 100:1 - you don't really need a comparison between the two to be
> amazed.
Thank you. I was hoping you would give the address of a site that showed
fractal compression that didn't require fractal compression tools (it
would seem a little silly to have it any other way). The results are very
impressive, but I wish they would show more then just two images. The eye
is a little bit silly (obviously it would compress and zoom well, it's
radially symmetric), the picture of Pavaroti is far more impressive. I
would like to see that one zoomed. I'd also like to see compression times
for images (though I admit that that is far less important).
If these images are genuine examples of how well the technique works,
then I would expect that fractal compression might displace most of the
other image compression techniques (for most circumstances).
It would be interesting to see some engineer come up with a technique to
take in images in a non-pixelated format. I think fractal camera's would
make fractal compression far more interesting.
Scott Hopwood 'When all else fails, consult an oracle.
(02) 351-6098 Usually, the best place to track one down
shopwood@nospam.staff.cs.su.oz.au is at the bottom of a glass of red.'
shopwood@nospam.socs.uts.edu.au