Jasc Paint Shop Pro 7.04 And Animation Shop 3.04(Portable)
Gualberto Estrada
How else should we describe a little box that gets smaller but more powerful each year, and that pours forth an endless stream of words and sounds of pictures and movies? The multimedia computer captures all manner of worldly experience and even presents us with worlds of its own.
As dramatic as the impact of multimedia has been, its story is far from finished. We have good reason to anticipate ever more powerful multimedia systems. Multimedia is not only advanced; it is advancing. The revolution will continue.
The term computer derives from the human calculators who performed complex mathematical operations before these functions were completely automated. For many years, most people thought computers would only be used for
So important are these new forms of interactivity that multimedia applications are often differentiated based on the degree and quality of interaction they support. Some applications are designed to allow little or no interactivity; others encourage as much interaction as possible.
Another powerful form of multimedia interactivity is found in advanced simulations and games that create their own virtual reality . Virtual realities are not simply responsive to users; they are immersive. An immersive multimedia application draws its users into an alternate world, engaging them intellectually, emotionally, and even viscerally. Advanced flight simulators so thoroughly immerse pilots in a world of virtual flight that they routinely serve as substitutes for training in actual aircraft. Video games can draw players into other worlds for hours or even days on end.
Using this power effectively requires an understanding of the basic concepts that underlie multimedia hardware and software. It also requires a basic knowledge of the practices and principles of a wide range of media. Multimedia is,
first and foremost, interdisciplinary. By definition, it draws on the multiple traditions, talents, and perspectives of text, graphics, sound, video, and animation. To use these varied resources effectively, multimedia developers need an awareness of the traditions and best practices of each. In chapters to come, we will explore each of these topics.
Early theatrical performances greatly extended this interest in multisensory experience. Ancient Greek actors performed to the accompaniment of music and the chanting and singing of a chorus. Elaborately painted stage scenery, apparently with convincing three-dimensional effects, and stage props (furniture, weapons, even chariots) formed a backdrop for performances. The Greeks also made use of various machines to heighten the intensity of the dramatic performance. One (the keraunoskopeion) simulated lightening; another (the bronteion) produced the rumble of thunder.
Multimedia further evolved as new technologies arose to represent various forms of sensory experience. By the early 20th century, it was possible to add sound to previously silent films, and movies became multimedia. As new capabilities were added later in the century (including color, stereo, and surround sound), and as filmmakers learned to exploit the potential of their tools (close-ups, fades, flashbacks, cut-aways, and special effects), the movie developed
By the mid-1900s, the pace of technological development increased dramatically. A very different kind of machine emerged, and a few individuals began to glimpse the possibility of using it to dramatically extend the scope of multimedia.
In a number of ways, then, Bush believed that his machine could compensate for the limitations of human intellect. Memex could also revolutionize the way information was stored and accessed by taking advantage of one of the strengths of the human mind.
Memex II was very similar to the original Memex. Bush still emphasized the importance of association as a means of indexing knowledge, and he still thought of his machine as a device to assist individuals in accessing and manipulating different forms of information. Technical developments suggested, however, that the original dream was much closer to realization and that it could be extended in various ways. Many innovations had impressed Bush, but the most significant were magnetic tape, the transistor, and the digital computer.
Artificial intelligence is a field of computer science dedicated to developing computer systems that behave as if they have human intelligence. Expert systems were AI initiatives of the 1970s and 1980s. These systems incorporated the knowledge of content experts such as physicians or engineers. One of the first, Mycin, aided in the diagnosis of blood
An effective procedure is a step-by-step process guaranteed to produce a particular result. For instance, the rules of long division provide an effective procedure for calculating the result of dividing one number by another. If we follow
The radical implications of his answer were not lost on Turing himself. Later he would argue that computers would one day think for themselves and that the answers to any question posed to them would be indistinguishable from the
Bush and Turing belonged to a generation of theorists with the imagination and foresight to predict what they could not yet actually do. By the 1960s, the evolution of digital computers led a new generation of theorists to propose
The Dynabook became the model for intuitive, accessible multimedia computing, and although it was never put into production, it greatly influenced the first commercial GUI computer, the Xerox Alto produced in 1973.
Imagine having your own self-contained knowledge manipulator in a portable package the size and shape of an ordinary notebook. Suppose it had enough power to outrace your senses of sight and hearing, enough capacity to store for later retrieval thousands of page-equivalents of reference materials, poems, letters, recipes, records, drawings, animations, musical scores, waveforms, dynamic simulations, and anything else you would like to remember and
Millions of Macs would eventually be sold. The GUI and multimedia functionality had become mass-market innovations. In 1985, Microsoft announced Windows 1.0, agraphical user interface added to the DOS operating system. The release of Windows led to an extended legal controversy between Apple and Microsoft, with Apple alleging infringement of its rights to the GUI. Apple would ultimately fail to prevent the proliferation of the Windows operating
With the response at CERN less than enthusiastic, Berners-Lee developed the essential elements of what would become the World Wide Web on his own. In 1990, he developed the software needed for servers (the computers that store and distribute information). He also created the first browser programs to be used on the individual machines
connected to the server (clients). In the following year, he began distributing his software to scientists over the Internet. These first programs were written for a specific computer called the Next. This was the machine used by Berners-Lee and many of his colleagues at CERN. In 1993, graduate students at the University of Illinois developed Mosaic, a version of the browser for use on the Macintosh and the PC. Mosaic opened the Web to millions of computer users the world over. The explosive growth of the Web was underway.
Bush also understood that the tools that shape understanding could, in turn, be shaped by understanding. His enduring legacy is the inspiration he provided to others to actively design new technologies to meet human needs and
A continuing technical revolution in hardware and software. Refinements in existing technologies and the development of new modes of computing will continue to increase computing power while lowering costs. Greater computing power will continue to spread to an ever-wider array of users.
The expansion of creative opportunity. The most important source of the continuing revolution in multimedia is the creative potential generated by the worldwide distribution of computing power to an ever-wider array of individuals. The great revolutions of the past developed in circumstances that created a synergy of disparate visions and experiences. Digital communications have dramatically increased both the speed and the reach of interpersonal
In the following chapters, we will explore the fundamental concepts and the practical tools needed to participate in the ongoing magic of the multimedia revolution. As we use those tools, we should remember the dreams of those who helped to shape them. We, too, have the power to shape tools to our purposes, to improve traditional modes of
Adaptive multimedia Alan Kay Alan Turing Artificial Intelligence Basic interactivity Douglas Engelbart Dynabook Expert systems GUI Hypermedia Hypertext Immersive multimedia Intellimedia Interactive multimedia Mashup Memex Metamedium Modeless Multimedia Noninteractive multimedia Steve Jobs Ted Nelson Tim Berners-Lee Trails Turing test Universal Turing machine Vannevar Bush Virtual reality Xanadu
This listing of data is not yet information. Information is data made useful, data interpreted and applied to produce understanding. The amount of information conveyed through data is dependent on the knowledge of the recipient. The casual observer may see the numbers above and understand that the barometric pressure is dropping. The meteorologist prepares for the approaching storm. Multimedia developers carefully consider the knowledge and skills of their intended audiences. Only in this way can they ensure that the data presented in their applications will become meaningful information.
Data is either digital or analog. Digital data consists of separate, discrete units. A digital clock presents the time as a sequence of distinct numbers. Analog data varies continuously. An analog clock presents time through the
Traditionally, images and sounds were created and delivered in analog form. Paintings and photographs were composed of continuous areas of color, and music was produced through analog motions of strings, reeds, and other devices. But analog media cannot be directly created, edited, or distributed by a digital computer. To take advantage of
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