Gifs loading faster... This isn't alwyas true. The rule of thumb for
graphics on any web site is to use jpeg for photos, and gif for computer
generated images. This is becuase of the way each compression scheme
works, they are fundamentally VERY different under the hood.
Since the new.jpg image has both photographic and computer generated
elements, gif would most likely not offer a significant file size savings.
In fact I saved the new.jpg as a gif and the file size tripled. Some of
this increase in file size could be due to artifacts in the JPG image that
gif didn't compress well when I converted it, but most likely it's doe to
the fact gif doesn't compress photos well. The true test would be taking
the original image (a photoshop creation perhaps) and saving it into the
two different file formats and comparing the file sizes there. I'd say
keep it jpg if you want to save the entire image in a single format.
Ideally, converting the computer generated elements of the image to gif,
and the pictures to jpeg, then putting them together via HTML would offer
the most savings in filespace. But this might cause problems with
outdated versions of web browsers out there.
-dave
dbeham@xnet.com