The next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn, will feature support for uncompressed digital camera images--which could change the way people view and edit photos.
The company on Wednesday announced deals with camera companies Nikon and Canon, as well as Fuji Photo Film and Adobe Systems, to let Windows users view, print and eventually edit uncompressed digital camera images--which are stored in what"s commonly known as a "raw" format.
Sometimes called a digital negative, raw files are pre-pixelized data that comes directly off of a camera"s charge-coupled device, or CCD--one of two main image sensors in digital cameras. Eventually, raw files get converted to more common file formats, like JPEG, GIF and TIFF.