How can I convert icons and bitmaps to GIF files?
MS Paint will convert bitmaps to gifs. When creating a gif, ensure that the color that represents transparent is known to the image editor. (in MS Paint this is specified under image attributes, if the image is a gif.)
To work with icons it is necessary to download an icon editor. These can be found for various prices at Tucows.com. Depending on the editor, you can either load the .ico file or save its images directly as gifs, or for cheaper icon editors you can load the icon and copy and paste it into MS Paint. Icon Studio 1.0 is an example of a freeware icon editor