loading:
loadImage( "http://tiny.media.mit.edu/images/icons/144036.png?1169771223" );

will fail, but this works:
loadImage( "http://tiny.media.mit.edu/images/icons/144036.png" );

i see the problem with not knowing what image-type it is for generic URLs like
renderimage.php?123123 .. but in the case above if the ?XXXX would be stripped off, it should
be able to load.

F

yep, also covered here:
http://processing.org/discourse/yabb_beta/YaBB.cgi?board=Syntax;action=display;num=1165174666

thought i had a bug filed for this but i guess not. i just need to add a
version of loadImage() that includes the file extension separately.

right, that solves the problem with generic URIs. super!

now checked into svn, please test it if you have time..

fixes both the .png?234234234 problem (even without the version that uses
an extension), and adds a second version of loadImage() that takes the file
type.

jep. works fine in svn-rev: 3008

PImage msg;
msg = loadImage( "http://tiny.media.mit.edu/images/icons/144287.png?1169831028" );
image( msg, 0,0, width, height );
msg = loadImage( "http://tiny.media.mit.edu/render_icon/144290/5", "png" );
image( msg, 0,0, width, height );

well done, thanks!
F

unfortunately, the new solution won't handle the following scenario:
http://tiny.media.mit.edu/images/icons/144287.png?rand=11634.234234
however i think that's a minor issue, and people can specify the extension
if they're using URLs that odd.