[Old News] Steve Wilhite, creator of image file format 'GIF', dies

As an image file format with functions such as transparent background display that makes a specific color transparent, animation display that stores multiple images in one file, and 'interlaced display' that displays images as the file is loaded. Steve Wilhite, a computer scientist who was involved in the design of the known ' GIF ', died on March 14, 2022, due to a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). I was 74 years old.

Stephen E. Wilhite Obituary --Visitation & Funeral Information

Steve Wilhite, the inventor of the GIF, dies aged 74 after COVID-19 battle --ABC News
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-24/steve-wilhite-man-behind-the-gif-dies-covid-19/100935486

Wilhite was born on March 3, 1948.

Wilhite, who belonged to CompuServe, the largest personal computer communication company in the United States, organized the mainframe DECsystem-10 compiler and runtime system creation team used in CompuServe. At that time, Fortran and BASIC compilers and runtime systems, and the library 'BTOOLS' that supports BLISS are known.

After that, by adopting LZW as the data compression algorithm, we developed the image file format 'GIF' that reduces the file size without degrading the appearance quality. GIF has become widespread because it can quickly display images with large file sizes even in low-speed communication environments, and because the copyright of the file format is owned by CompuServe but its use is license-free.

However, GIF later has a patent problem due to the adoption of LZW. LZW is an algorithm developed by Terry Welch et al., And the patents obtained are owned by electronic device maker Sperry. In 1986, computer company Burrows merged with Sperry in a hostile takeover, creating Unisys. Unisys has licensed LZW patents to more than 100 companies and has obtained patents not only in the United States but also in Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Canada.

The CompuServe side did not notice the LZW license, and Unisys had a policy of not taking a license fee even if it knew that the algorithm was used for GIF, but in 1993, when GIF became widespread, a license fee was charged. Although the license was agreed in 1994, users strongly opposed it, and in 1995, 'PNG' was born as a new image file format. However, PNG could not completely replace GIF, so 'GIF without LZW compression' was also developed. The LZW patent expired in 2003 in the United States and in 2004 in Japan, but due to changes in the PC and communication environment during that time, the frequency of use of GIF has decreased significantly.

The name 'GIF' has been slammed both in Japan and abroad as 'I don't know if the reading is gif or gift', but Wilhite himself pronounced 'gif' at the 2013 Webby Awards ceremony. It's not a gift. '

It's Pronounced'Jif' not'Gif'-YouTube