ImageMagick

Q: how to interact with clipboard?
A: "clipboard:" can be used as a file name, for convert etc.

Q: how to deal with raw files?
A:
   convert to and from raw rgba:
        convert foo.png foo.png.rgba
        convert -depth 8 -size 540x960 foo.rgba foo.rgba.png
   or using stdin/stdout:
        convert png:- rgba:-
        convert -depth 8 -size 540x960 rgba:- png:-

Q: and how to extract a rectangle from a file?
PA: two possible options look relevant:
        -crop
        -extract
   I think they might be functionally the same,
   but -extract might be more efficient?
   Wait, this: http://www.imagemagick.org/RMagick/doc/image1.html
   insinuates crop might retain the offset info
   (in formats such as gif?) hmm.
        convert -depth 8 -size 540x960 -crop    200x200+100+100 rgba:- png:-
        convert -depth 8 -size 540x960 -extract 200x200+100+100 rgba:- png:-
   or, equivalently (according to the page):
        convert -depth 8 -size 540x960 'rgba:-[200x200+100+100]' png:-

Q: image viewer/inspector for windows?
A: nope, they all suck-- I don't WANT blurry zoom-in!
   (gimp is fine but takes too long to load)
   I wrote one using AutoHotKey, called myImageViewer.ahk
   XXXTODO: check it in somewhere

Q: how to specify a constant image?
A: http://www.imagemagick.org/script/color.php
   convert -size 100x100 xc:red whatever.png

Q: how to make a montage with minimal/no borders?
A: lots of ways, but here's a simple one:
   convert a.png b.png c.png +append abc.png