> >: : : I do like Amiga, but I'm sure "Multimedia" was first seen on game
> >: : : machines. At least I know the C-64 had simple animations and sampled
> >: : : synchronized sounds. Both short, but the definition was met.
> >: : :
> >: : Well I do not consider a game machine to be a multimedia platform.
> >: : How many game machines could be used as a kiosk?
> >:
> >: Much like Bill Clinton's political positions, your definition of
> >: multimedia seems to be a constantly shifting target. Suitability as a
> >: general purpose kiosk machine hasn't a bloody thing to do with whether or
> >: not it was capable of some form of multimedia.
> >
> >If you really need to know, I have seen a kiosk run with C-64 and dual
> >floppies. It has joystick and keyboard visible. The place is on airport
> >where the machine is used in telephone booth to advertize, allow written
> >messages (FAX ??) and choosing from some other possibilities the
> >telephone co. is offering (pick the number with joystick from a list
> >of hotels, ...)
> >
> >That is (was?) in Denmark one year ago, so there !-)
> >
> >Esa Haapaniemi
> >University of Oulu
> >Finland
>
> Cool. :)
>
> But anyways..
>
> The thing all of you guys are forgetting is that all of the items fitting
> the term "multimedia" has to be OUT OF THE BOX when referred to as a
> Multimedia machine.
>
> Ie: The games machines of old combined sound, and video/animations in
> color to a TV screen and could be recorded on a VCR sure.
>
> The C64 could do this also.. after you added a cassette drive and/or disk
> drive and eventually hard drive etc.
>
> Early Apple computers also had the capability of sending color images
> from disk/computer to a VCR to be recorded, not sure if this was standard
> or not.
>
> We can leave IBM PCs and clones out of this entirely.
>
> Then came the Amiga which had a BUILT IN disk and RAM drive (where can
> those game machines save information to), even the C64 had to add stuff
> to it to make it useable. The Amiga had 4096 colors available, could
> multitask (unlike the Apple computers), had stereo sound (unlike Apple and
> C64 before then and game machines before then) which could be hooked upto an
> external stereo and not just a TV and/or monitor. Back to the
> multitasking bit, add a genlock and/or a frame/video grabber, add a sound
> digitizer and save all images/animations and sounds to a disk and/or hard
> drive then use a program which combines all these together to display
> them to a VCR from disk or in realtime simultaneously and you have a
> multimedia machine. These additions along with hard drives and CD-ROMS
> just enforces the Amiga's multimedia's capabilities which were already
> there from start.
>
> It wasn't until IBM PC clones came STANDARD with a color graphics card,
> sound card providing stereo which could be hooked upto a stereo to send
> signals to and get signals from, a disk drive and later a hard drive and
> CD-ROM and "multitasking" capabilities that THEY were labelled "Multimedia"
> machines - which still couldn't output to a VCR and/or a TV without an
> additional card (which sometimes might have come standard) still making
> them not true multimedia machines but the term has been warped by them
> ever since, that is all people consider multimedia to be these days, all
> these cards added on and not truely standard giving the computers what
> they think is "Multimedia" capability.
>
> -=*George*=-
Um, you may want to check the history books for a short lived Apple computer named "Lisa" before making blanket statements; also the term multimedia can be defined in many ways so maybe isn't the best topic to debate.
