Multimedia

As a technology, it is called multimedia.   As a revolution, it is the sum


of


many revolutions wrapped into one: A revolution in communication that


combines the audio visual power of television, the publishing power of the


printing press, and the interactive power of the computer.   Multimedia is


the


convergence of these different professions, once thought independent of


one


another, coming together to form a new technological approach to the way


information and ideas are shared.


What will society look like under the evolving institutions of


interactive


multimedia technologies?   Well, if the 1980’s were a time for media


tycoons, the


1990’s will be for the self-styled visionaries.   These gurus see a dawning


digital


age in which the humble television will mutate into a two-way medium for a


vast


amount of information and entertainment.   We can expect to see:


movies-on-demand, video games, databases, educational programming, home


shopping, telephone services, telebanking, teleconferencing, even the


complex


simulations of virtual reality.   This souped-up television will itself be


a powerful


computer.   This, many believe, will be the world’s biggest media group,


letting


consumers tune into anything, anywhere, anytime.


The most extraordinary thing about the multimedia boom, is that so


many


moguls are spending such vast sums to develop digital technologies, for


the


delivering of programs and services which are still largely hypothetical.


So what is behind such grand prophecies?   Primarily, two


technological


advances known as digitization (including digital compression), and fibre


optics.


Both are indispensable to the high-speed networks that will deliver


dynamic new


services to homes and...