Falco 1.0

Show images hosted on a Win PC via RS-232

Short:        Show images hosted on a Win PC via RS-232
Author:       Domenico Lattanzi
Uploader:     domenico lattanzi mailfence com
Type:         gfx/show
Version:      1.0
Requires:     68020 CPU or better, RapaGUI plugin
Architecture: m68k-amigaos
Distribution: NoCD

Falco is a tool to view, on an Amiga computer, images stored in a Windows host
by using a client-server architecture. It is intended for use in situations
where the images are stored on the server and the client cannot view them
directly, or cannot do it in a satisfactory manner, for one or more of the
following reasons:

- Insufficient RAM
- Resolution too high, allowing only a very small portion of the image to be
displayed
- CPU too slow to decode the format in a reasonable time
- No datatype available for the picture's graphic format
- Files cannot be given to the Amiga system (images too big for floppy disks,
not enough space on HDD, or no LAN connection available)

This program has been written to solve these problems. It consists of two
parts:

- A server program, to be launched on a Windows system
- A client program, to be launched on an Amiga OS3 system

The two systems are connected through a null-modem serial cable, and through
this connection the client requests to the server the images to be displayed.
When the server receives a request, it loads the image and scales it down to
a smallest size, then transmits it to the client, who display it.

The program implements a schema which use the biggest power of a remote system
(in terms of CPU, RAM and software) to allow an operation that would otherwise
be impractical (or impossible) on an older system.

Program's name is the italian translation of "Falcon", an animal known for its
very acute eyesight, which enables it to see very far, and this program allows
users to view images stored on a remote system (?far away?).

Falco is released as freeware and can be distributed in every non-commercial
form. Donations are accepted, at the address provided at paragraph "About the
author".