PNG Question

Greetings,

I have been reading up on the PNG (Portable Network Graphics) format
recently. My tests are inconclusive at this point, with some of the images
taking more space than their GIF/JPG couterparts, others taking less. One of
the features of PNG that I'm having no luck in implementing is it's ability
to provide transparency with 24-bit (truecolor) images, using an
Alpha-channel for the transparency effect instead of an individual, indexed
pallette color (which works in 256-colors only, from my understanding). The
desired effect of using 24-bit PNG transparency would be to create an
irregular image (not just a square graphics, but one with diagonals and such
as well as lettering), complete with a drop shadow, that could then be
loaded on ANY color background (or even other images using CSS-P). However,
my results are that the alpha channel is not becoming transparent, instead
creating a solid, non-transparent background (medium grey in IE, white in
Netscape, black in Opera). Since the areas that should be transparent are
showing up in different colors in these browsers, I assume the alpha channel
is stored in the image properly. But I'm at a loss for making the background
of the image truely transparent as what I've read says it can do. Is there
additional tag properties, scripts, or plug-ins required to make this effect
work, and if so, can anyone point me in the right direction?

The online version of my tests can be found at
http://www.zydhek.net/test/pngtest.html -- This is of two of the components
of my logo, where the triangle portion should be loaded behind the text; I
have the text offset for the purposes of testing transparency.

Thanks,
Kehvan M. Zydhek
kehvan(at)zydhek.net

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