Image to ZX Spec 1.0.3 Released

Lots of improvements in this release - as you can see! For a change list see below, for more info and screenshots see the original post.

If you don't fancy the download you can also now try Image to ZX Spec online (requires Java 6). You will be prompted about its digital signature being unverified - you will need to click the "Run" option or it won't start). You don't have to tick the "Always trust..." option.



Changes
-------
Version 1.0.3
- New options dialog (options can also be changed mid conversion!)
- New dithering options (including Low Error Atkinson)
- New jpeg image export option
- New pre-processing options such as brightness, contrast etc.
- New image scaling options (proportional scaling)
- Monochrome image mode with colour selection
- Small code refactor, improvements in speed on some operations
(speed is not a priority at the moment).

Version 1.0.2 (Internal build only)
- Numerous new dithering algorithms added
- Small bug fixes

Downloads:

Webstart Image to ZX Spec (i.e. "online" usage - requires Java 6)

Download Image to ZX Spec 1.0.3

Download the Image to ZX Spec 1.0.3 (GPL 2) source code

Wubi Wubi Wubi! Wubi Ubuntu 9.04 Install Error

If your Wubi Ubuntu 9.04 install is hanging at "Creating the virtual disks" it's probably down to the file system you are trying to install Wubi on. Fat32 formatted disks have a file size limit of 4GB, so no matter what the Wubi installer tells you, you won't be able to create a >4GB Ubuntu install on this disk.

You should convert the disk to NTFS from the command line using the Microsoft convert tool if you want an Ubuntu install greater than 4GB (open up a command prompt and type "convert /?" for more info) or install to another disk that uses NTFS instead.

If this isn't the problem with your install you can find out exactly what is by looking at the wubi installer log file in (Windows XP - YMMV) C:\Documents and Settings\[user name]\Local Settings\Temp. In this case the logs shows

ERROR Virtualdisk: Failed to extend file. Not enough free space?
ERROR Virtualdisk: WriteFile() failed!

which is the symptom, not the problem!

Image to ZX Spec 1.0.2 Progress

I thought I'd post progress on Image to ZX Spec. I've now added a number of other dither options and a separate dialog for configuration, but I guess what you really want to see is how much it's improved - the following conversions where done with my own "low error" dither based on the Atkinson dither. Click the images to see them full size. Yes... this is what the images will look like on a real ZX Spectrum!

Image to ZX Spec 1.0.1 Released

Image to ZX Spectrum has been updated.

For a full description of what this application does see the original post.

I'm not entirely happy with this release - the "Full Colour Floyd Steinberg Converter" (FCFSC) mode is still quite poor, however I'm releasing it now so users can get a feel for the "Half Colour Floyd Steinberg Converter" (HCFSC) which is new to 1.0.1 and is potentially a lot better (pre release screenshot above).

Version 1.0.2 will fix the colour issues in FCFSC.

Genuine Original Windows XP Themes Collection

A number of genuine themes have been released for Windows XP over the years.

As a convenience to readers I'm listing the download links to the Microsoft sites below - I'll update this post if any more become available (and when I find them - there is a "Watercolor" XP beta theme lurking around somewhere but I can't seem to find a Microsoft signed copy).

Name	Description
Zune	Orange and black
Windows Embedded	Dark blue
Royale	Shiny blue Windows Media Center (note Microsoft removed the official link here and replaced it with just the wallpapers.
Royale Noir	(Incomplete black theme NOT compatible if you have standard Royale - read the linked page first!)

Update: I've just found out Viperfang covered all of these with screenshots a few weeks ago - have a look