--- ImageUtil.java	2006-01-12 23:29:00.000000000 -0800
+++ D:\ImageUtil.java	2006-01-24 21:49:53.468750000 -0800
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
 
 package com.sun.opengl.util;
 
+import java.awt.*;
 import java.awt.image.*;
 
 /** Utilities for dealing with images. */
@@ -61,4 +62,65 @@
       raster.setDataElements(0, image.getHeight() - i - 1, image.getWidth(), 1, scanline1);
     }
   }
+  
+  /**
+   * Creates a <code>BufferedImage</code> with a pixel format compatible with the graphics
+   * environment. The returned image can thus benefit from hardware accelerated operations
+   * in Java2D API.
+   *
+   * @param width The width of the image to be created
+   * @param height The height of the image to be created
+   *
+   * @return A instance of <code>BufferedImage</code> with a type compatible with the graphics card.
+   */
+  public static BufferedImage createCompatibleImage(int width, int height) {
+    GraphicsConfiguration configuration =
+       GraphicsEnvironment.getLocalGraphicsEnvironment().
+         getDefaultScreenDevice().getDefaultConfiguration();
+    return configuration.createCompatibleImage(width, height);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Creates a thumbnail from an image. A thumbnail is a scaled down version of the original picture.
+   * This method will retain the width to height ratio of the original picture and return a new
+   * instance of <code>BufferedImage</code>. The original picture is not modified.
+   *
+   * @param image The original image to sample down
+   * @param thumbWidth The width of the thumbnail to be created
+   *
+   * @throws IllegalArgumentException If thumbWidth is greater than image.getWidth()
+   *
+   * @return A thumbnail with the requested width or the original picture if thumbWidth = image.getWidth()
+   */
+  public static BufferedImage createThumbnail(BufferedImage image, int thumbWidth) {
+    if (thumbWidth > image.getWidth()) {
+      throw new IllegalArgumentException("Thumbnail width must be greater than image width");
+    }
+    
+    if (thumbWidth == image.getWidth()) {
+      return image;
+    }
+  
+    float ratio = (float) image.getWidth() / (float) image.getHeight();
+    int width = image.getWidth();
+    BufferedImage thumb = image;
+    
+    do {
+      width /= 2;
+      if (width < thumbWidth) {
+        width = thumbWidth;
+      }
+      
+      BufferedImage temp = createCompatibleImage(width, (int) (width / ratio));
+      Graphics2D g2 = temp.createGraphics();
+      g2.setRenderingHint(RenderingHints.KEY_INTERPOLATION,
+                          RenderingHints.VALUE_INTERPOLATION_BILINEAR);
+      g2.drawImage(thumb, 0, 0, temp.getWidth(), temp.getHeight(), null);
+      g2.dispose();
+
+      thumb = temp;
+    } while (width != thumbWidth);
+    
+    return thumb;
+  }
 }