A general image format file is a representation of an image or simple animation. The format was created by Compuserve and is copyrighted. It is currently the most widely accepted image format in existence, but the concern over its copyright has inspired many people to try and move away from its use. Some popular alternatives include JPEGs, PNGs, and X-bitmaps for still images and MPEGs and QuickTime movies for animations. A GIF can only contain two-hundred fifty-six different colors, of which "transparent" is an allowed color. Each GIF can use its own set of 256 colors, though.