Torrance, CA Ð A new image-processing app has been released, swelling the ranks of an already-crowded segment of the NEXTSTEP market. Emerald Image Tool from Gemstone Systems, however, sets its sights on users with demanding, high-end requirements for images that reach hundreds of megabytes in size.
"We aim more for a research environment, rather than desktop publishing," said Lyndon Hardy, president of Gemstone, "where people work with big images that have high depth and lots of bits per pixel."
The company's main clients have been government customers that work with satellite photography, as well as medical users involved with radiology and other detailed medical imaging processes, explained Hardy.
Emerald approaches the problem of manipulating large images by letting users modify a file, place it in the background, and continue working on other tasks while the app processes the alterations. Shipment of the app was delayed almost a year to solve this problem, Hardy said.
Emerald also provides standard image-editing features and supports a variety of image formats, including Landsat, raw, SPOT, and more common formats like TIFF.
Emerald Image Tool costs $400 per user. Gemstone: 310/370-4557; info@gemstone.com.