<s>
QFX	B-Protocol
is	O
an	O
image	O
editing	O
computer	O
program	O
developed	O
by	O
Ron	O
Scott	O
,	O
a	O
Texan	O
photographer	O
and	O
software	O
engineer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
QFX	B-Protocol
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
feature-rich	B-Architecture
image	O
editing	O
applications	O
available	O
on	O
the	O
PC	O
platform	O
(	O
DOS	B-Device
,	O
later	O
Windows	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
software	O
of	O
choice	O
for	O
digital	O
artists	O
and	O
image	O
postproduction	O
studios	O
in	O
the	O
times	O
when	O
1024x768	O
truecolor	O
graphics	O
were	O
a	O
luxury	O
,	O
far	O
before	O
Photoshop	B-Operating_System
could	O
have	O
been	O
considered	O
a	O
serious	O
professional	O
tool	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
clean	O
interface	O
and	O
clever	O
workflow	O
helped	O
build	O
a	O
devoted	O
user	O
base	O
,	O
some	O
of	O
whom	O
continue	O
using	O
it	O
,	O
despite	O
QFXs	O
being	O
long	O
ago	O
eclipsed	O
in	O
features	O
and	O
users	O
by	O
Photoshop	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
QFX	B-Protocol
was	O
released	O
around	O
1990	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
ran	O
on	O
PCs	O
equipped	O
with	O
AT&T	O
Truevision	O
AT	O
Vista	O
and	O
Targa	O
ISA	O
bus	O
framebuffer	B-Algorithm
graphics	O
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
versions	O
of	O
QFX	B-Protocol
had	O
no	O
brushes	O
;	O
the	O
program	O
was	O
used	O
for	O
image	O
processing	O
and	O
color	O
correction	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
image	O
creation	O
,	O
providing	O
basic	O
filters	O
(	O
blur	O
,	O
noise	O
,	O
glow	O
etc	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
that	O
were	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
programs	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
run	O
from	O
the	O
command	B-Application
line	I-Application
and	O
included	O
in	O
batch	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
Windows	B-Application
releases	O
introduced	O
an	O
internal	O
scripting	O
facility	O
that	O
pre-dated	O
Photoshop	B-Operating_System
's	O
actions	O
by	O
many	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	O
was	O
popular	O
with	O
PC-based	O
computer	O
animators	O
,	O
who	O
would	O
often	O
use	O
QFX	B-Protocol
tools	O
to	O
composite	O
multiple	O
image	O
layers	O
for	O
single-frame	O
output	O
to	O
a	O
video	O
recorder	O
or	O
film	O
recorder	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1991	O
the	O
new	O
version	O
called	O
Hires	O
QFX	B-Protocol
priced	O
around	O
US$3500	O
,	O
provided	O
additional	O
features	O
including	O
brushes	O
and	O
expanded	O
support	O
for	O
large	O
image	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
that	O
time	O
the	O
alternatives	O
for	O
professional	O
digital	O
image	O
editing	O
were	O
over-200k-and-more-USD	O
dedicated	O
workstations	O
like	O
Quantel	O
's	O
Paintbox	O
,	O
Crossfield	O
or	O
Barco	B-Protocol
Creator	I-Protocol
software	O
running	O
on	O
expensive	O
SGI	O
Power	O
series	O
multiprocessor	O
boxes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
QFX	B-Protocol
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
multiprocessor	O
optimized	O
graphics	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Could	O
use	O
"	O
all	O
memory	O
"	O
without	O
use	O
of	O
"	O
memory	O
manages	O
"	O
(	O
QMM	O
per	O
example	O
)	O
through	O
Motherboard	O
's	O
BIOS	O
,	O
when	O
DOS	B-Device
can	O
not	O
handle	O
more	O
of	O
16MB	O
!,	O
and	O
let	O
user	O
set	O
the	O
undo	O
levels	O
up	O
to	O
999	O
years	O
before	O
others	O
(	O
aka	O
;	O
Photoshop	B-Operating_System
)	O
keep	O
just	O
one	O
undo	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Photoshop	B-Operating_System
,	O
windows	B-Application
oriented	O
,	O
less	O
technical	O
and	O
cheaper	O
solution	O
for	O
anybody	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
winning	O
approach	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
QFX	B-Protocol
continued	O
adding	O
new	O
features	O
including	O
a	O
windows-based	O
interface	O
and	O
CMYK	O
handling	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
unable	O
to	O
compete	O
with	O
the	O
lower-priced	O
and	O
increasingly	O
feature-rich	B-Architecture
Photoshop	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
QFX	B-Protocol
was	O
also	O
the	O
core	O
code	O
for	O
a	O
Computer	O
Aided	O
Jewelry	O
Design	O
System	O
known	O
as	O
Digital	O
Goldsmith	O
,	O
a	O
'	O
paint	O
 '	O
application	O
which	O
originally	O
used	O
an	O
'	O
old	O
 '	O
Tips	O
Targa	O
Plus	O
format	O
platform	O
for	O
image	O
manipulation	O
and	O
architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
raster	O
based	O
DG	O
,	O
the	O
core	O
of	O
which	O
is	O
a	O
stripped-down	O
QFX	B-Protocol
code	O
,	O
which	O
Ron	O
Scott	O
modified	O
appropriately	O
with	O
programming	O
assistance	O
from	O
Kenton	O
West	O
,	O
has	O
moved	O
on	O
into	O
the	O
Computer	O
Controlled	O
Mill	O
utilizing	O
Nurb	O
Design	O
with	O
GemVision	O
's	O
Matrix	O
software	O
,	O
yet	O
,	O
one	O
may	O
find	O
Digital	O
Goldsmith	O
as	O
the	O
'	O
photoshop	B-Operating_System
 '	O
,	O
world-wide	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
Jewelry	O
Custom	O
Design	O
industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
</s>
