4 / T l æ ╟ φ [ñ±.p¼° Publisher:|m130SelectWare Technologies, Inc. Executive Producer:|m130Jeff Connors Producer:|m130Joe Dandy Senior Programmer:|m130Steve Pollard Demo Coordinators:|m130Paul Francetic/Dennis Weyburne Product Coordinator:|m130Jill Wozniak Graphic Artist:|m130IntelliMedia Productions The materials on this disc are copyrighted. Copying (except for personal archives), modifying or transferring the material is prohibited and in violation of the copyright law. The interface and all its likenesses are copyrighted material and the sole property of SelectWare Technologies, Inc. in their entirety. The SelectWare System, The Ultimate Demonstration System, is a trademark of SelectWare Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are of their respective companies. Ä [ ₧ ß ! ANQ¢ τ ≥.l┤ ╨ ┘!k╢ ╠╧°√?Bçè╙ Θ2 fÖ╪7éŵ Xüë┘#Ya¬ε9 | ï ╥
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Profiles are available at the product level only (i.e., not at category or sub-category levels). |b |b|uD|b|uEMO - Launches demo of Product. |b |b|uS|b|uNAPSHOT- Provides a short overview of Product and company. |b |b|uT|b|uECHNICAL - Provides technical requirements for the Product. |b |b|uO|b|uVERVIEW - Discusses Product's features and functions at greater length than SnapShot. These can be selected either with a click of the left mouse button or by typing the underlined key for the desired function. |bStatus Area |b(at top of screen) - Shows status. |bViewing Area|b (at center of screen) - Displays action area. |bSelection Area|b (at right side of screen) - Lists categories, sub-categories, and products. |bNavigation Area|b (at bottom of screen) - Consists of four buttons and a counter box: |m025E|b|uX|b|uIT (Exit sign) - Simply click with mouse, or type '|bX|b' from keyboard |m025to exit the system. |m025|b |b|m025|uH|b|uELP (Weather vane) - Simply click with mouse, or type '|bH|b' from |m025keyboard for context sensitive help |m025|b |b|m025|uP|b|uRINT (Hand print) - Simply click with mouse, or type '|bP|b' from |m025keyboard to print product profile consisting of Snapshot, Technical, |m025and Overview -- all in one electronic brochure. |m025|b |b|m025|uL|b|uOOKUP (Star gazing) - Allows you to change sort order, by |m025Product, by Company, or by Category. Simply click with mouse, |m025select sort order from menu, and proceed; or type '|bL|b', and select |m025desired sort order from menu by typing associated letter from |m025keyboard. |m025Counter|b |b- Used to show the number of products, categories, or |m025sub-categories within a sort. The counter will change automatically |m025based on the active selection. |bSELECTION AREA |b |b|bThe Selection area is used as your primary selection engine and is located on the right side of the screen. Simply click with your mouse or use arrow keys to make your selection, then press Enter. Selection types are |bSystem Information|b consisting of: |m025|bCredits |b- The people and companies who created and produced |m025the product |m025|bUser's Guide|b - For complete SelectWare System user's guide |m025 |m025HINT: When at the product level, you can look at products by |m025Technical requirements or Snapshot simply by selecting the |m025appropriate profile button and moving up and down the product list. |m025 |m025|bSCROLL AREA FUNCTIONS |b|m025 |b|m025|bThe arrow keys and the slide bar connecting the arrow keys |m025(located just to the right of the Selection area) are known as the |m025scroll bar. The scroll bar allows you to move through the text or the |m025Selection area. |m025 |m025If using a keyboard, hitting: |m025 |m025|bPage Up|b - Moves up one page of text. |m025|bPage Down|b - Moves down one page of text. |m025|bHome|b - Moves to the beginning of the text. |m025|bEnd|b - Moves to the end of the text. |m025|bUp Arrow|b - Moves up one line of text. |m025|bDown Arrow|b - Moves down one line of text. |m025 If using a mouse, positioning then depressing and releasing the left button of the mouse over the: |m025 |m025|bUp Arrow Butto|bn - Moves up one line. |m025|bDown Arrow Button|b - Moves down one line. |m025|bSlide Bar Button|b (button between the two arrows) - Moves up and |m025down in the scroll bar by holding the left mouse button down over the |m025button and moving the button. When the button is in the desired |m025location in the scroll bar, release the mouse. |m025|bInside the Slide Bar|b - Moves text one page toward where the mouse |m025was clicked. |m025 Wherever the scroll bar is in The SelectWare System, it functions in the same manner. |bELECTRONIC BROCHURE |b |b|bAt the product level choose |b|uP|b|uRINT to print a complete electronic brochure (you must have the printer turned on). |bSTATUS AREA |b |b|bThe Status area is located at the top of the screen. It is used to indicate exactly where you are in the Demo Arena. HINT: Just below the navigation buttons, you will see a small typewritten area. This area shows the path you are currently at in the demo selection system. Each level is separated by a vertical slash ( / ). For example: Main Menu/Demo/Strategic Games. Keep a close eye on this area as you move through the system; it will automatically change to show your exact position in the system. |bCATEGORY |b |b|bIf a category contains sub-categories, or when returning from sub-categories, the button must be depressed twice. The first time displays the category; the second time activates the category. If using a mouse, positioning then depressing and releasing the left button of the mouse over the desired location will have the same effect as hitting the appropriate keys on the keyboard. Zc¼ 1 6 n î ╚ ^g ▒┼ _ ¥╣ ≤Eä╒7 ué ╬∞.t ╢╞ ≈² 0B çí▄ 8R £▒ µ· .J ò╟ M } ╝ ▀
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' N q É á ╚ ▐ · - J [ î ⌐ ╕ █ · G wÇ܃╜ ┌δ Z^äô╚=u▓╖└█α± .EJd Çô¡╓≤0OT] ä ƒµ% 5u╡·D |m120The SelectWare System |m126|bNEW PRODUCTS |b|b SelectWare is proud to present our latest products: SELECTWARE TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |s00,249,00|m020|bAll-Music Guide|b (CD-ROM/Entertainment)) |s00,249,00|m020|bVirtual Reality StarterKit|b (CD-ROM/Entertainment) |s00,249,00|m020|bClassic Collection Adventure/Fantasy|b (CD-ROM/Entertainment) ACCOLADE |s00,249,00|m020|bSpeed Racer in: The Challenge of Racer X|b (Simulation) ADOBE SYSTEMS, INC. |s00,249,00|m020|bPhotoshop 2.5 For Windows |b(Windows/Graphics-Design) ALDUS CORPORATION |s00,249,00|m020|bPageMaker 5.0|b (Windows/Word Processing-DTP) |s00,249,00|m020|bPhotoStyler|b (Windows/Word Processing-DTP) BORLAND INTERNATIONAL, INC. |s00,249,00|m020|bQuattro Pro 5.0 |b(Windows/Spreadsheet) ELECTRONIC ARTS |s00,249,00|m020|bEagle Eye Mysteries: The Original |b(Education) |s00,249,00|m020|bEagle Eye Mysteries: In London |b(Education) |s00,249,00|m020|bPeter Pan: A Story Painting Adventure|b (CD-ROM/Entertainment) |s00,249,00|m020|bPing & Kooky's Cuckoo Zoo|b (Education) |s00,249,00|m020|bVideo Jam|b (Hobbies) |s00,249,00|m020|bScooter's Magic Castle|b (CD-ROM/Education) HSC SOFTWARE |s00,249,00|m020|bHSC|b |bDigital MORPH|b (Multimedia/Presentation-Drawing) HUMONGOUS ENTERTAINMENT, INC. |s00,249,00|m020|bPutt-Putt Joins the Parade|b (CD-ROM/Education) |s00,249,00|m020|bFatty Bear's Birthday Surprise|b (CD-ROM/Education) |s00,249,00|m020|bPutt-Putt Goes to the Moon|b (CD-ROM/Education) INTRACORP, INC. |s00,249,00|m020|bGrandmaster Chess |b(Strategy) MAXIS |s00,249,00|m020|bUnNatural Selection |b(Strategy) MICRO FOCUS, INC. |s00,249,00|m020|bPersonal COBOL 2.0 for DOS|b (Languages-Compilers) MICROPROSE SOFTWARE, INC. |s00,249,00|m020|bNFL Coaches Club Football |b(Simulation) |s00,249,00|m020|bMaster of Orion|b (Strategy) |s00,249,00|m020|bPirates! Gold |b(Strategy) NEW WORLD COMPUTING, INC. |s00,249,00|m020|bMight and Magic: Darkside of Xeen|b (Adventure/Fantasy) ORIGIN SYSTEMS, INC. |s00,249,00|m020|bShadowcaster|b (Adventure/Fantasy) SOPHISTECH RESEARCH |s00,249,00|m020|b1-900-Virtual |b(Virtual Reality) STRATEGIC SIMULATIONS, INC. |s00,249,00|m020|bGreat Naval Battles|b (Simulation) THE SOFTWARE LIFELINE |s00,249,00|m020|b3270CMXT|b (OS/2-Miscellaneous) |s00,249,00|m020|bANY-TO-ANY- Bridge Connectivity Platform|b (OS/2-Miscellaneous) |s00,249,00|m020|bGUI Assist|b (OS/2-Miscellaneous) |s00,249,00|m020|bREMOTE|b (OS/2-Miscellaneous) |s00,249,00|m020|bXBase to C++ for OS/2|b (OS/2-Miscellaneous) VIRTUAL REALITY LABORATORIES, INC. |s00,249,00|m020|bVistapro 3.0|b (Virtual Reality) WORDPERFECT CORPORATION |s00,249,00|m020|bWordPerfect 6.0 for Windows|b (Windows/Word Processing-DTP) LAN 3.0 PRODUCTS Alterra Systems, Inc. |s00,249,00|m020|bDispatch Management System (DMS)|b Bridgeway Software, Inc. |s00,249,00|m020|bSecretariat|b Byers Engineering Company |s00,249,00|m020|bByers View Station|b Computer Systems Integration, Inc. |s00,249,00|m020|bFaxForward|b Gilmore Systems |s00,249,00|m020|bMAGNUM BBS For OS/2|b ImageStat Corporation |s00,249,00|m020|bImageCare |b|b Ipswitch, Inc. |s00,249,00|m020|bVantage/IP|b |s00,249,00|m020|bCatipult|b IRMWare Services |s00,249,00|m020|bEntity/Relationship Diagrammer |b|b|s00,249,00|m020|bEDPT|b LeaseTek, Inc. |s00,249,00|m020|bThe Remarket-r|b |s00,249,00|m020|bThe Analyz-r |b|b|s00,249,00|m020|bThe LoanManag-r |b|b|s00,249,00|m020|bThe LeaseManag-r |b|b|s00,249,00|m020|bThe Maintenance Track-r|b Microcom |s00,249,00|m020|bLANlord |b|b Omega Logistics International |s00,249,00|m020|bOmega 2B|b Open+Voice, Inc. |s00,249,00|m020|bOpen+Engine|b Oracle Corporation |s00,249,00|m020|bORACLE7 Server for OS/2, LAN Server Ed.|b PCX |s00,249,00|m020|bOS/2 Bakup Wiz |b|b Racal InterLan |s00,249,00|m020|bES3210 DOS and OS/2 NDIS Drivers|b |s00,249,00|m020|bInterLan MCA DOS and OS/2 NDIS Drivers|b |s00,249,00|m020|bNI5210 DOS and OS/2 NDIS 2.01 Drivers|b |s00,249,00|m020|bInterLan AT DOS and OS/2 NDIS Drivers |b|b|s00,249,00|m020|bEtherBlaster DOS and OS/2 NDIS Drivers |b|b RightFAX |s00,249,00|m020|bRightFAX |b|b Softbridge, Inc. |s00,249,00|m020|bATF NetWorked|b TechNet Of Tennessee, Inc. |s00,249,00|m020|bHOST |b|b Teubner & Asociates, Inc. |s00,249,00|m020|bFAXGATE|b The Logical Choice |s00,249,00|m020|bATOMS|b |s00,249,00|m020|bOfficeAutomator: ATOMS |b|b|s00,249,00|m020|bdBabes |b|b|s00,249,00|m020|bEINSTIME |b|b|s00,249,00|m020|bdHacker |b|b|s00,249,00|m020|bdFotoMan |b|b VisiSoft |s00,249,00|m020|bVisiNet Enterprise|b |m170* * * * * * If you would like to see a new feature, type of product or a specific product, just give us a call. We would like to hear from you (810-477-7340). The product information contained on this CD is provided by the publisher and is set to serve as an approximate guideline only. Information such as product price, technical requirements, etc., may change without notice. Contact the product publisher or authorized dealer to verify product information. z º < K á Ω 4ü ö ╫ b£╦Nà ╔X sº∩0x╖ ┬Cç╞ KÉ╤Tö ░÷: z ║ ▐ &
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8 V ¥ Welcome to |bThe SelectWare System|b|s00,247,00|b, The Ultimate Software |bDemonstration System|b|s00,247,00. This CD is published on a quarterly basis, and includes the CD-ROM magazine, |boptiCDigest|b|s00,247,00. The SelectWare System retails for $24.95 per issue or $49.95 for a one-year subscription (4 issues). See the subscription information in the optiCDigest section for order information. SelectWare also produces many other fine CD-ROM products, such as: |s00,249,00|m020|bClassic Collection Greatest Air Battles|b|m280$39.95 |s00,249,00|m020|bClassic Collection Adventure/Fantasy|b|m280$39.95 |s00,249,00|m020|bVirtual Reality StarterKit|b|m280$59.95 |s00,249,00|m020|bAll-Music Guide|b|m280$59.95 |s00,249,00|m020|bSoftware JukeBox Adventure/Fantasy|b|m280$49.95 |s00,249,00|m020|bSoftware JukeBox A+ Grade Builder|b|m280$49.95 |s00,249,00|m020|bSoftware JukeBox Arcade|b|m280$49.95 |s00,249,00|m020|bSoftware JukeBox All-American Sports|b|m280$49.95 Contact SelectWare Technologies at (810) 477-7340 to order any of the above products. (All prices are suggested retail price, and are subject to change without notice.) |bBackground Information on SelectWare Technologies |b|bSelectWare Technologies, Inc. (STI) has been in business since 1988 and published the first "SelectWare System" disc in 1989. It was originally conceived to provide dealers with an effective point-of-sale MS-DOS software demonstration system, complete with electronic brochures. The SelectWare System has evolved into a comprehensive product covering not only MS-DOS, but also Windows, OS/2, Multimedia, and CD-ROM. By further enhancing The SelectWare System's value with the optiCDigest magazine -- All About CD-ROM, On CD-ROM -- we have increased circulation by providing a valuable disc directly to end users. As the CD-ROM market matured, demands for our products are increasing, and we expect to distribute thousands of discs annually. Many companies have bundled our disc, including IBM Corporation, Lotus Development, Software Etc., Wearnes Technologies, Meridian Data, Chinon, Exxis Technologies, CompUSA, Home Shopping Network, CompuAdd, Korean CD-ROM Association, and ACS, with many more to be announced in the future. STI is dedicated to providing the simplest, least expensive, and most effective approach available for software demonstrations and sales. Some of the software developers who have taken advantage of The SelectWare System are IBM, Lotus, Borland, Symantec, Microsoft, WordPerfect, Claris, and many more. STI has been publishing on a quarterly basis for over five years. With extensive experience in CD-ROM publication, STI is providing an exciting new service - custom CD-ROM publishing and interactive multimedia marketing presentations. Whether your needs are electronic cataloging, point-of-sale merchandising, or simply getting your product to the marketplace, we can help. For further information contact SelectWare Technologies, Inc. at (810) 477-7340. B L æ ÿ Γ , Pbªφ Ië á║⌡:é ▒⌠@ë ║ ? |boptiCDigest|b is an independent optical journal, published quarterly by SelectWare Technologies, Inc., 29200 Vassar, Suite #200, Livonia, MI 48152. |boptiCDigest|b will make every effort to assure the accuracy of articles published in the magazine. |boptiCDigest|b assumes no responsibility for damages due to errors or omissions. |uSubscriptions|u To subscribe or send address changes, write to |boptiCDigest|b, c/o SelectWare Technologies, 29200 Vassar, Suite #200, Livonia, MI 48152, or call 1-800-342- 3366. One Year (four quarterly updates): $49.95*; One Quarter: $24.95* (*International orders add $30.00; Canada/Mexico add $15.00 for postage and handling.) |uCopyright Information|u The contents of this magazine COPYRIGHT 1993 by SelectWare Technologies, 29200 Vassar, Suite #200, Livonia, MI 48152. You may reproduce this publication for your own use, but any other use requires the prior written permission of the publisher. By submitting an article or manuscript, the authors agree that the copyright for their article is transferred to the publisher if and when the article is accepted for publication. The copyright covers the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the articles. |boptiCDigest|b disclaims responsibility for the statements, either of fact or opinion, advanced by the contributors and/or authors. |boptiCDigest|b is a Trademark of SelectWare Technologies, Inc. T ╙) 6 F ] t û « ┬ INô╪ % O[kìª ╣FÆ ú∞0z─ ╙!k» |bFor Comments and Suggestions|b - Please forward |uby mail|u to: Mr. Jeffrey J. Connors Publisher, optiCDigest c/o SelectWare Technologies, Inc. 29200 Vassar, Suite 200 Livonia, MI 48152 For information on subscribing to optiCDigest, see Subscription Information in this section. |bReview Policy for Software and Hardware |b|b Hardware and software submitted for review will not be returned, nor retained by this publication. Products submitted for review will be periodically donated to non-profit organizations at the editor's discretion. Please submit all products for review to: optiCDigest Product Reviews c/o SelectWare Technologies, Inc. 29200 Vassar, Suite #200 Livonia, MI 48152 It would be wise to use Federal Express or some other type of overnight service to provide you delivery confirmation. Please do not call to confirm receipt. You will be contacted if, and when, a product is selected for publication. If possible, you will be forwarded a copy, as submitted for publication. You must not quote from this until it appears in print, without the permission of |boptiCDigest|b. After it is in print, you may use quotes, provided you give |boptiCDigest|b proper credit and accurately quote what has been said. The |boptiCDigest|b editorial staff makes every effort to leave these columns as written, but reserves the right to reschedule or eliminate portions of the column if necessary. This is done solely on the basis of space constraints, not editorial content. l ½5 + d ü ╜ ╞ α ² 9Woâ ù └ ∩ - [¥ σ V Ä ╔ ; q┐± Cy |b |b|uSUBSCRIBE NOW & SAVE OVER 50%|b|u _______YES! Send me a 1 year (4 issues) subscription to |m050"The SelectWare System" |m050with DOS, Windows, & Multimedia Demonstration Packages |m050and |m050optiCDigest Magazine |b|m050All for just $49.95|b Complete this form & return with a Check or Money Order to: SelectWare Technologies, Inc. 29200 Vassar, Suite 200 Livonia, MI 48152 ATT: Kathy Connors For VISA/MasterCard: FAX, Mail, or Call: FAX: 1-313-477-6488 Phone: 1-800-342-3366 _______Payment Enclosed - Payable To: SelectWare Technologies _______VISA _______MasterCard (U.S.Funds) * International orders add $30.00 (Canada/Mexico add $15.00) for postage and handling. International orders must be prepaid in US Funds. Name________________________________Title_______________ Company_____________________________Phone(___)_________ Address________________________________________________ City____________________________ State_____ Zip_________ Card #________________________________Exp.Date__________ Signature_______________________________________________ Environment: DOS _______ MAC _______ OS/2 _______ Dealer _______ End User_______ 5.4 ================================================= |bSELECTWARE USE ONLY|b DTE:_____________ PRD ______ - ______ BLL RF# ________ ADMIN: SNT:_____________ DB _______________ ================================================= ╢å # ( n ╖ ├ Bë╤Y¢µ) Z¥τ, `½±8Ç ┤·Cî╤[ ü╟Oÿπ/ v ╣ ┬
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f ¬ ─ Q ù ▐ (t ¬δ6 k«·Dì ░≈=╟ ╤ ^ó∞4 b⌐≤< w╣ Eä╦dÑ ▓√Eî╒ ` áπ(m│ ═Sû └Mö ╞W |å |bENCARTA IS SLOW BUT ENCHANTING |b|b Microsofts Encarta CD-ROM has an enticingly beautiful interface, with graphics that are superior to the two other main encyclopedia entries in the market. But this titles slow speed and inability to have more than one article open at a time make it surprisingly frustrating to use. While a choice between any of the multimedia reference works currently available should call for a comparison of the data in them, the factual content of todays CD encyclopedias is actually very similar, based on low-end printed sets that were aimed at children and adolescents. Microsoft based its offering on Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, and, with its cartoon fox hosting the well-written manual, Encarta is also clearly aimed at youngsters. Encyclopedias for adults, such as the famed Britannica, have yet to make it to CD-ROM. The true contest between multimedia encyclopedias is how well they embellish the data with images, animations, sounds, and videos to clarify that informational content, and how they design their interfaces for navigating the 600 plus possible megabytes of data. In appearance and design, Encarta is a well-illustrated winner--even if it is a bit pokey. Microsoft claims 200MB more data than its competitors CDs, and that only 10 percent of Encarta is based on Funk & Wagnalls. The noticeable effort the company put into its pictures and sounds pays off well. Encarta is packed with sounds and images. Opening with a flashing slide show of pictures taken from its virtual pages, Encarta takes much longer to launch than its competitors; it also takes almost twice as long to open an article. These delays quickly grow tiresome. Even on a 486 MPC, it took 20 seconds or longer to open an article accompanied by a high-resolution image. (Articles without pictures open rapidly.) Id prefer an open-on-request option, especially since some pictures seem superfluous. On the other hand, there are places where I appreciated having images and sounds open simultaneously, such as in the Gallery, a listing of all the pictures and sounds (which are also accessible from within appropriate articles). Here you can find 470 song recordings from a wide variety of styles, and collections of phrases in 46 different languages. I would have liked an easier way to scan a list of file types, (e.g., all the animation clips available) without going through the current four-step process. Microsoft promises enhanced searching by type in a future version. The images are compressed with fractal technology (from Iterated Systems). Encartas hundreds of colorful, quality images look okay on a standard VGA, but really shine on a Super VGA or 24-bit display. The images automatically scale from 8- to 24-bit to match a PCs display. For every image, Encarta stores two files: one which is called a picon, a teaser which opens automatically when a listing or article is selected, and the other, larger, file which opens when you choose to view the image in high resolution. Encartas main shortcoming is its inability to have more than one article open at a time. The researcher working with a PC-based encyclopedia should not face the same limitation of a real encyclopedia: having to close one article to see another. Encarta does keep an article open if you go to a different book, such as the atlas; it launches its multimedia player as a separate application; it will even work with the atlas, player, timeline, help module, and encyclopedia open at once. Despite the above complaints, Encarta does have a very intuitive interface thats a joy to use. An introductory Quick Tour animation gives a good overview to working with all the CDs functions. From Encartas main window, you can select and open an article in a half-dozen ways. A contents button brings up an alphabetical listing of the 25,000 articles. With a few keystrokes, the list automatically scrolls to any selected topic. And the program keeps track of the articles you have read, so you can backtrack easily. There are ten Areas of Interest: Physical Science and Technology; Life Science; Geography; History; Social Science; Religion and Philosophy; Art; Language and Literature; Performing Arts; and Sports, Games, Hobbies, and Pets. Sub-categories within each section lead to scores of articles. I found navigating from topic to topic to be fast and intuitive, either from the Category Browser button in the opening screen or the Change Category button on each page. There are also A< and >Z buttons, for scrolling one topic at a time up or down the alphabet. Once you are in an article, a handy See Also button quickly brings up a listing of related articles that are also accessible at a click. Encartas Timeline feature is a very powerful way to cruise through the vast amount of data offered--from the beginning of humanity in 15,000,000 BC, to the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1992. Every visual cue is hot, and a click will take you to a series of related features. A zoomable Atlas speeds you to regions of interest by means of an on-screen globe. Zoom down to a certain level, and a list of articles relating to that area pops up. It was here that I encountered another problem with Encartas performance. After hearing an Australian pronounce Australasia, the name for that region of the globe, I zoomed into Australia and tried to play its national anthem. Encarta acted as if it were trying to play the tune, but silence reigned--it made no sound at all. (Other sound functions performed fine both before and after this experiment.) The Atlas section provides digital-audio pronunciations of countries and continents. I wish such an option were also available for the hundreds of exotic animals whose pictures are so fun to explore, but whose strange names are encountered here for the first time. Encarta doesnt provide an audible pronunciation, which would be a natural on a multimedia product intended for children. (Even just a phonetic guide would have been welcome.) There are, however, recordings of many animal sounds. Another fault: Simple animations could have worked better than the CPU-intensive digital video Microsoft used for many examples. An AVI clip of a snake hatching, for example, played only three frames on a 386SX machine; a 486 MPC played only five frames. A film of a bird of prey played a bit better. On the other hand, animations such as a primer on airplanes played smoothly, demonstrating the effectiveness of multimedia in showing complex concepts. A lesson on Bernoullis Principle of Aerodynamics cleared up some of my own misconceptions. Even in its general content, Encarta adds a few extras. The entry on Kafka, for example, was more detailed than that in Comptons Interactive Encyclopedia, and included a picture of the author and recording of an actor reading the opening lines of Metamorphosis. Throughout its virtual pages, the look of Encarta is striking. Its basic appearance and much of its content outpaces its competitors. Would that it beat them in performance as well. |bEncarta |b|b$395 - Microsoft Corporation, 800-426-9400. ▐ {n e ⌐ ▌ e«⌡6 g¼ε* >ç╔T p╝HÄ╧[ò▄& V₧Φ-q╝√@ è ╠
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, u ╣ B ë ╨ 9 p┤⌡;ü╩Sÿ▀ \¿ ▓≡:é╩ -q╣ +l¬ε7u ▓╩ █ε (7 Hj |bTHE LINE BLURS FURTHER |b|b Just as the major Hollywood entertainment companies are leaping into the multimedia PC title market, established software developers are setting up complete interactive studios themselves. Even computer industry heavyweights are moving into interactive entertainment--IBM recently opened its Multimedia Studio to license and publish multimedia titles. IBM also recently teamed up with Jim Cameron, the director of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, to open Digital Domain, a high-end visual effects studio. Digital Domain will also produce multimedia entertainment and education products. Popular game developers such as Interplay Productions, Virgin Games, and Spectrum Holobyte are continuing to make alliances with movie producers and media conglomerates, and developing their own production studios. Interplay Productions is celebrating its tenth anniversary by building a full recording and film studio. Were setting up so we can also do post-production for other developers, says Interplay President Brian Fargo. But Im not going to replace [high-end special effects company] Industrial Light and Magic. Fargo says that Interplays $3 million of investment over the last few years in various game productions will pay off for some time to come. Just as Hollywood reuses back-lot sets for movie after movie, Interplay can repurpose backgrounds and other elements for future titles. Given the perennial success of swords and sorcery-type fantasy adventures, Interplays large medieval costume department is particularly useful. When creating minor characters, their database of 3D bodies, textures, and human movement patterns greatly speeds development. A blue-screen studio, used to film actors for later superimposition over computer scenery and effects, is just being finished. Fargo says he plans to rent out the facilities to other developers. Interplay is turning to Tinseltown for talent as well as technique. The talent in Hollywood isnt as expensive as you might think, Fargo notes. 90 percent of all actors make less than $10,000 per year. However, some cost a bit more: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForrest Kelly together earned $100,000, plus royalties, for their voice-over work on the CD-ROM version of Star Trek: 25th Anniversary. The addition of professional voices had an immediate benefit, Fargo says. Lines that were dead as text are now funny. Interplay has 8-year exclusive rights to computer entertainment titles using the original Enterprise crew. (Spectrum Holobyte has the franchise on Next Generation computer games.) Icom Simulations was recently acquired by cable programming giant Viacom, home of the MTV and Nickleodeon networks. In its new Dracula Unleashed CD-ROM, Icom is continuing the innovative style that proved so successful with its best-selling Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective discs. Players view motion video scenes as if they were in the room with the other characters. This interactive version of the Dracula story includes 136 color scenes of original motion video. Icom hired its own cast and crew, rented reproductions of period transportation, and constructed full sets. For verisimilitude, Icom even hired a 120-pound wolf. Icoms version of the famous story is set ten years after Stokers original tales, but features many of the same characters, including Dr. Van Helsing, among its 47 roles. Sony and Psygnosis are also working on Dracula titles. Paramounts new subsidiary, Paramount Technology Group, is chartered with making alliances and investing in multimedia companies. Its subsidiary, Paramount Interactive, was founded to re-purpose existing Paramount content--from publishing, TV, film, and even amusement park divisions--into interactive media. Most software companies dont have the luxury of our enormous content, said president Keith Schaefer. The group also works with new entertainment properties as theyre created: Paramount Interactive developers are now on the set of Addams Family Values, filming alongside the sequels producers for game footage. With new TV programs and films, multimedia plans are there from the beginning, Schaefer says. The company has established a Media Kitchen facility to produce titles and perform basic interactive multimedia research. Virgin Games, which has already produced Hollywood-based game titles such as Dune, is taking its efforts one step further by teaming up with Warner Brothers on the set of the movie Demolition Man, which will star Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. The actors will also perform their moves against a blue background for footage to be combined with the games computer graphics. Virgin had also aligned with Disney for a video game version of the top-grossing Aladdin. Studio chairman Jeffrey Kattzenberg says the goal was to combine the competitive excitement of interactive entertainment with the storytelling skills of Hollywood. Creative Multimedia Corporation has emulated Hollywood in a more surprising way: They are selling product placement space on a forthcoming CD title. The Chaos Continuum is set in 2577, and has a strong campy side, says associate publisher Judy Grillo. We thought that having people recognize products on screen would heighten the campiness. CMC is charging $500 to place a logo in the game. |bInterplay Productions |b|b714-553-6655 |bViacom New Media |b|b708-520-4440 |bParamount Interactive |b|b415-812-8200 |bVirgin Games |b|b714-833-8710 |bCreative Multimedia Corporation |b|b503-241-4251 · w| J Æ ┌ W₧ ╚Y p æ╒ c░√ @â╩`¼⌠?ä ò ┼
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a Ä ═ \ ñ Σ -w╣ c¼°?ï╤ 'm┤∙6 W₧σ.o░∙9 Aå╩WáΘ b½ ≥5u û╪e«≤8 ~├K Life is a game. Or is it the other way around? After a decade or so of writing about video games and a career that has included other forms of gaming such as politics and business, I was thrown for a loop by a very simple question posed to me: Why do we play games? It doesnt take a doctorate in psychology to realize how seriously most of us take our games. Witness the national mania that surrounds the Super Bowl or the buildup to a lottery drawing. My first answer to the question was that games were a form of escapism from the real world, but the more I thought about it, the less water that theory seemed to hold. Games are for real, Ive decided. George Bernard Shaw wrote, Men trifle with their business and their politics, but never trifle with their games; it brings truth home to them. Or, as Marshall (Medium is the Message) McLuhan told us, Games are popular art--collective, social reactions to the main drive or action of any culture. Games, like institutions, are extensions of social man and of the body politic, as technologies are extensions of the animal organism. Lets back up and think about where technology has taken us. In the course of this century, we have gone from the printed word to film, to television, to the computer. Consider that progression for a moment. As a writer, I am certainly a big fan of the printed word, and expect that books will endure, but it is a fact that text documents are completely lacking in visual stimulation. Illustrated books--including comics--offer specific images, but lack motion. Films bring images to life, and television brings similar action into the home, but they do not demand any involvement from the viewer. And now we come to computer-driven video games. Although performance artists--from the gladiators in the Coliseum of ancient Rome to off-Off Broadway showfolk--have sought to engage their audience in decision making, the new wave of video games is the first mass media to combine visual stimulation with direct interaction. If we use McLuhans concept and think of games as a reaction to societys rules, then we can look at them as allowing us to extend into new environments or test new variations on old themes. The rules we are reacting to may be laws of the state, cultural mores, or the finite laws of physics. This kind of exploration is the search for what social scientist Sherry Turkle calls a second self. Another side of the same coin is to think of the rules of society as defining what is safe and what is not--setting the bounds. For some of us, playing games is a way to reinforce our sense of security by giving rewards for following the rules set by society. For others, games are a way to push the envelope and test our ideas without getting punished, injured, or shot at. There is another, probably less enlightening transition going on: Some games are moving away from the idea of reacting to reality, to the disconcerting notion of making fantasy real. The first video games were disembodied challenges, wherein you launched tennis balls over a net, or fired missile blips at asteroids or nameless and lifeless alien craft. It was an exercise in disconnected violence, somewhat like the age-old pastime of tossing rocks at a tree. The next stage in the evolution of games was the development of fictional characters to which the player could make an attachment. These range from the fairly benign world of the Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong, to the cartoon violence of Dungeons & Dragons and Ultima, the absurd world of Leisure Suit Larry, or out into the reaches of space with Star Trek and Wing Commander. And then we moved on to extensions of our real world into the reality of others. I am, alas, not ever going to realize my dream of stepping up to the plate in the World Series, but I can place my electronic second self in that situation in Tony LaRussa Baseball or Hardball III. Never mind my gimpy knees: I can soar like Michael himself in Jordan in Flight. And I can be the CEO of A-Train or manage a thriving metropolis in SimCity 2000 (coming this Christmas) without having to work on the railroad or stand for election. To me, these are the most exciting types of computer games. The worst are the ones which present a fixed world, not open to change. The best are dynamic and configurable. There are thousands of combinations of challenges in SimCity, and dozens of paths to the changeable conclusion of The Seventh Guest. However, there is danger when we tie ourselves too closely to the real world. We have already seen a spate of offerings that made the Persian Gulf War, itself almost a real-life video game, into a shrink-wrapped PC adventure. How far off is Amy Fisher: The Game? What will be the message to the kids who grew up idolizing and even becoming Mike Tyson within the world of the hugely successful, boxing-simulation video game, when they discover that their hero is human and decidedly flawed? The real threat to our culture may come from video games bringing us into a fantasy world. We may all decry the terrible violence of the Terminator films, but most parents and social scientists are able to brush off its effect on young and mature minds by calling it unreal and disconnected from the viewer sitting in the theater or at home. But what about the video game of Terminator, which presents us the opportunity to become the killer and to perform his awful acts? The emerging technology of virtual reality is poised to deliver to game players an electronic glove with which to reach into the world presented by the computer. Will we eventually use the glove to pull the trigger? Why do we play games? Perhaps you thought, Because they are fun. I think its much more than that; games are essential spurs to the development of the human psyche. The healthy ones among us are not machines running a pre-designed and unchangeable program. History has shown that when humans are treated in that way, they either crack or revolt. Games release us from the rules of our society and of our physical environment. My college days in the hippie-dippie 60s were concentrated on a search for an alternate consciousness, an altered state of being. The solution then involved creative pharmacology; today the answer involves silicon and plastic. Corey Sandler plays games for a living, from his office on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. In 1993 he will publish books on video sports games, a new action-adventure game, and the latest editions in his best-selling Nintendo and Sega book series. î ┤E # f ¿ ╛ ² ; ╟NÆ ─Zÿ ╫Yúε4y┴ KÄ╥
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5 u ï ╠ C ä ╚ T iÇ |bTALKIN' 'BOUT THE EVOLUTION |b |b|bALRs Evolution IV multimedia computer combines 486 power and a photo CD-compatible drive with local bus graphics for a low-cost, high-performance MPC. The Evolution comes pre-configured with Windows 3.1 and Kodaks Photo CD Access software. I was playing with high-resolution, photo-realistic images minutes after pulling this MPC from its box. Built around a line of 486 processors, the Evolution PCs pack the punch necessary for working with big image files--or for playing leading-edge games: It was the only MPC we had in house that could play the demanding The 7th Guest CD game. And with six expansion slots, this MPC is ready to host a plethora of add-on boards. The only real limitation of the machine is its sound output--the built-in front-panel speaker isnt on the same quality level as its 16-bit audio card or tray-loading Sony CD-ROM drive--but it beats having to use headphones for your PC until you get decent external speakers. The sound quality provided by the Sound Blaster-compatible Pro AudioSpectrum 16 sound card is very good. The Labtec microphone is rather large for its sound quality (many smaller microphones offer better fidelity) but its nice to have a mike included with an MPC. Everyone likes to play with the Sound Recorder and its effects, but few systems come with everything you need to record your voice. A front-mounted sound input would make using the sound cards recording abilities much easier. For that matter, a front-mounted headphone jack would also be a boon. The 33 MHz, 486DX model I tested came installed with the ATI Mach32 accelerated color display card, 4MB RAM, 256K cache memory, and an SVGA monitor. A handy ATI utility made the normally onerous task of switching video resolutions in Windows a simple affair. Other CPU configurations include 486/66 and Pentium. Pricing for the line varies (depending on options) beginning at $2,697. A model with a double-speed CD drive will be available soon. The Evolution sports a smoky-brown, flip-down front cover, which blocks the reset switch and the CD and floppy drives. I removed it quickly--it interfered with the machines multimedia capabilities--but it certainly looked stylish. The main power switch is conveniently located at the front of the PC. Only a 3.5-inch floppy drive is included, but a 5.25-inch drive bay is open if you need to install a larger floppy or tape drive. The 14-inch, .28mm dot pitch SuperVGA non-interlaced display was sharp and clear. The controls are front-mounted, except the power switch, which is hard to reach at the back. A 17-inch, non-interlaced monitor is also an available option. The Evolution IV starts with a 170MB hard drive, which tested at a zippy 11.4ms access time using the Norton Utilities speed test. The PC comes standard with 4MB of RAM (Id recommend 8MB for multimedia use). The Evolution supports as much as 52MB RAM, but this requires using expensive 32MB SIMMs. Five top-notch CD titles from Microsoft are included--Cinemania, Beethoven, Bookshelf, Multimedia Pack, and Works for Windows--which adds significantly to the Evolution packages value Working with multimedia can be daunting, even with well-packaged systems like the Evolution MPC. The customer support staff was well versed in the multimedia hardware and software ALR offers. Combining quality components, good service, and value pricing, the Evolution MPC is an excellent buy. |bEvolution 486/33 MPC |b|b$3,196 - Advanced Logic Research, 714-581-6770. T?%⌐ D ï ║ <â─ P¢ß*p ─ R¢Σ)m▒ ╔XÜ▐$h Ä═ V Ü▓╡· * n ░ ∙ 5
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n ┤ ▄ ) p ░ ° @ r╝ FÅ╓■GÅ┘%i╖√9sy╛S¥┤║S¥Γ*v┐ ▌0y─ SƒΦ )w└ Hç╠[í╢╝ Bê╠| ₧ε ü ╩ Y £ Γ ' l ╖ ■ @ ä ╦ X ó ╔ !`!ñ!δ!4"ü"╔"#R# r##é#═#$S$₧$Γ$ $ The mere mention of the MIDI Mapper is enough to send some people into paroxysms of panic. Yet this simple software utility was actually invented to make your life easier, not harder. The MIDI Mapper is a Windows 3.1 software driver that intercepts MIDI commands from an application, alters them according to your specifications, and then passes the results on to the drivers for your sound card and/or MIDI interfaces. The MIDI Mapper allows you to customize the playback of MIDI sequences to suit your particular sound card or external sound module, and can even handle multi-synthesizer systems. In particular, it allows you to configure almost any sound device to emulate the General MIDI standard. (See the June 1993 Audio column for a discussion of this standard, which allows musicians to create MIDI files knowing they will sound similar on a variety of sound cards and synthesizers.) Since most sequences produced these days are in General MIDI format, this ease of configuration is extremely useful. General MIDI emulation also allows music creators to pick an instruments sound by name rather than number for each track. In other words, when youre working with your favorite MIDI sequencer, you can tell a track to play a bassoon sound by choosing Bassoon from a pop-up menu or dialog box--instead of having to remember that Program Change 36 calls up a bassoon sound on your synth and then typing in that number. General MIDI makes sequencing much easier and faster. With the MIDI Mapper, you can set up a Patch Map that will automatically translate Program Change 1, which calls up an acoustic piano sound on any General MIDI synthesizer, to Program Change 40 (for example), which calls up an acoustic piano sound on your own synthesizer. You create the map once for each synthesizer or sound card, and then dont have to think about it any more. Every Windows MIDI application can take advantage of the same Patch Map. If all your sound sources--sound cards, keyboards, or external modules--already follow the General MIDI arrangement, then you probably have little need for the MIDI Mapper (except to route MIDI notes to either your sound cards synthesizer or external MIDI interface). |bUSING THE MIDI MAPPER |b |b|bThe documentation and help files for the MIDI Mapper are sparse, cryptic, and incomplete. Lets fill in the gaps. The MIDI Mapper manages three types of objects: Setups, Patch Maps, and Key Maps. A Setup is used for mapping MIDI channels to device drivers (especially handy if you have more than one MIDI device) and for invoking up to 16 Patch Maps. Each Patch Map determines how incoming Program Change numbers are translated, and can also invoke Key Maps--a different one for each Program Change, although youll probably use just one. Key Maps are useful for setting up percussion sounds, as youll see below. |b1.|b|m025|bAccessing It:|b To create new MIDI Maps, first close any application |m025that is using the MIDI Mapper, then double-click the MIDI Mapper |m025icon in the Windows Control Panel. |b2.|b|m025|bBrowsing It:|b By choosing Setups, Patch Maps, or Key Maps, you |m025change the contents of the drop-down list box. Windows ships with |m025several standard Setups and Maps, which you can examine by |m025choosing from the list box and clicking on the Edit button. Take a |m025look at an object of each type, and click the Cancel button to end |m025your editing of each without saving changes. |b3.|b|m025|bCreating a Patch Map:|b Create one of these for each of your |m025non-General MIDI sound modules. Click on the Patch Map button |m025and then the New button. A dialog box appears. Type in a name for |m025the Patch Map and a description, which will appear in the main MIDI |m025Mapper screen when the Patch Map is selected in the list box. You |m025wont be able to change this later. |m025 |m025The button at the top of the Patch Map screen lets you choose |m025between 1 based patches and 0 based patches. If you have a listing |m025of all the patch numbers for the sounds in your synthesizer, it will |m025either go from 0 to 127 or 1 to 128. The button is mislabeled! If your |m025list begins with 0, choose 1 based patches so that the choices |m025available to you in the Dest Patch column go from 0 to 127. If your list |m025begins with 1, choose 0 based patches. You cant change the Src |m025Patch and Src Patch Name columns, which are the incoming |m025Program Change numbers and their General MIDI names. |m025 |m025The Dest Patch column is where you should put the patch numbers |m025for your synthesizer. The Volume column is supposed to be used to |m025balance the sounds to your taste; however, as far as I can tell, it does |m025absolutely nothing. So leave it at 100 percent. Well discuss the Key |m025Map column below. |m025 |m025Creating an entire Patch Map is a lot of work, so a couple of shortcuts |m025can help. In particular, for starters, you can be lazy and map all the |m025different piano sounds to a single patch on your synthesizer. Or you |m025can map all the tuned percussion to a marimba sound. Map sounds |m025that you dont expect to use in the near future to a warning sound, |m025such as a ringing telephone. Then, if you ever try to use the sound or |m025play a sequence that does so, youll know by the incongruous ringing |m025that something is wrong. |b4.|b|m025|bSaving Is Tricky! |b When youve finished a Patch Map, click on the OK |m025button. Youll be asked if you want to save the Patch Map. Of course |m025you do, so click Yes. But dont be fooled, as you havent saved it yet. |m025Youll be returned to the MIDI Mapper main screen. Hit the Close |m025button. Youll have to double-click the MIDI Mapper icon again to get |m025back in, but its worth it. Without this step, your changes havent been |m025saved to disk, and youll lose your work if the system crashes or if |m025you end the Program Manager before closing the MIDI Mapper. |b5.|b|m025|bCreating a Key Map:|b Part of General MIDI is the Drum Map. This |m025says that on MIDI channel 10, each different note number between 35 |m025and 81 will trigger a different drum sound. This is markedly different |m025than every other channel, where different keys trigger |m025differently-pitched versions of the same sound. Not every |m025synthesizer or card can play the 47 different General MIDI drum |m025sounds on one channel, although most will play a few or a dozen. But |m025you can use the MIDI Mapper to make the most of the drum sounds |m025that are available by triggering them appropriately from General |m025MIDI sequences. |m025 |m025The process is very similar to creating a Patch Map. The main |m025difference is that a Key Map translates MIDI Note On messages |m025instead of Program Changes. As before, its a good idea to pick a |m025standard warning sound for those drums that you dont have good |m025sounds for, are not sure of, or are just too tired to map. I named my |m025map External Drums. |m025 |m025And, as before, its a good idea to save your work by closing the |m025MIDI Mapper when youre done. |b6.|b|m025|bActivating the Maps:|b This is the most confusing part of the MIDI |m025Mapper. From looking at the main screen, youd tend to assume that |m025you could activate a Patch Map by choosing it in the list box and then |m025closing the application. There doesnt appear to be any other way to |m025do it. However, it doesnt work this way, at least not for Patch Maps. |m025Patch Maps can be activated only from Setups, and Key Maps can |m025be activated only from Patch Maps. So, before you can use the |m025Maps youve created, theres some more work to do. You must create |m025a second Patch Map to activate the Key Map youve created, and a |m025Setup to activate both Patch Maps. Figure 1 shows the new Patch |m025Map, which Ive called External Drums. Its only purpose is to call the |m025External Drums Key Map. Figure 2 shows the final Setup, which Ive |m025called General MIDI. Note that it uses my external VFX sound |m025module on channels 1-9 while channels 11-16 go to the internal |m025Sound Blaster synthesizer driver. Channel 10 goes to the External |m025Drums Patch Map, which simply forwards the notes to the External |m025Drums Key Map. For your last procedure here, you activate the new |m025Setup by choosing it in the list box of the MIDI Mappers main screen |m025and clicking on the Close button. |b7.|b|b5,000.|bTelling the Application About It:|b Finally, you must tell your sequencer or music application to use the MIDI Mapper. Any application that uses MIDI sound will have a MIDI... menu item under a Setup or Configure menu, or some obvious equivalent. When you select this item, youll be greeted with a dialog box that asks you to choose a MIDI output driver (the MIDI Mapper is used for output only--it doesnt affect MIDI input from external synths). Youll be able to choose the driver supplied with your sound board or MIDI interface or the MIDI Mapper. This is where you choose the MIDI Mapper. Youll be able to do so only if the MIDI Mapper Control Panel is closed. |bCONCLUSION |b |b|bThe MIDI Mapper is a powerful tool for harnessing the power of General MIDI with any sound module. It has many flaws, some of which weve encountered in the course of this discussion, and some of which are subtler and whose descriptions would fill an entire column. Regardless, if you need to upgrade your non-General MIDI equipment to General MIDI for free, its the way to go. Warren Sirota is a composer, guitarist, and music technologist. '?Å O ô ▌ !_¿ ┴
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But the digital video, complicated animations, and high-resolution color graphics used in the multimedia of the 90s can over-tax these older drives, making them stutter and seem even slower than they are. Enter the new generation of double-speed CD-ROM readers. Sporting 300KB/sec sustained transfer rates, these second-generation drives can keep up with todays multimedia. The motors in double-speed units spin the CD-ROM disc at twice the rate of a standard drive. However, just spinning the motor twice as fast doesnt automatically by itself double the data transfer rate. Special buffering and other modifications are required to handle the acceleration. Multimedia World thoroughly tested five double-speed CD-ROM drives: the Chinon CDS-535, the Hitachi CDR-6700, the NEC CDR-38 portable, the Texel DM-5024, and the Toshiba TXM-3401. (Panasonic and Sony were unable to provide their double-speed drives in time for this review.) We also looked at, but did not fully test, two other interesting drives. The Procom Technology MCD-DS drive is an OEM configuration of the Toshiba TXM-3401, and matches its performance. Procom claims the drives SCSI adapter, called the SCSI XCELERATOR, enhances performance with added buffering and other features. We examined, but were unable to test, a pre-production unit of the high end Pioneer DRM-604X Quad Speed drive. |bWHO NEEDS DOUBLE SPEED? |b |b|bThroughout the life of the computer industry, it has been almost axiomatic that faster is better: Faster CPUs make the computer run faster; faster hard drives let you load files and programs faster; and high-speed modems move data over phone lines faster. But hardware speed is not necessarily crucial when it comes to CD-ROMs. If you plan to use your CD-ROM solely for text-based applications, a single-speed CD-ROM drive may be all you need. When you add CD-ROM cache software, like the ones included in Norton Speedcache+ or Lucid Corp.s Lightning CD, you can often dramatically improve the apparent performance of a standard CD-ROM drive, at a relatively low cost. A double-speed CD-ROM, however, can read directories and transfer data to a hard disk much more rapidly than a single-speed drive. When working with digital video or applications with graphically-intensive interfaces, you may save yourself a lot of waiting time if you have a double-speed CD-ROM drive. If you often copy files from a CD-ROM to your hard drive (with clip art CDs, for example), a double-speed drive is also valuable. The time you save through double-speed file transfers could be worth the price premium. Double-speed drives can also slip into a lower gear and run at single-speed to play audio CDs, or the Red Book (CD-Audio) portion of CD-ROM titles. There are some industry insiders who argue that double- speed drives may not be necessary much longer. According to one source, MPEG-compressed video, when viewed with special coprocessor boards, will produce full-motion, full-screen digital video at an image quality high enough to rival laser discs--all at single-speed CD-ROM transfer rates. Regardless of MPEG development, however, double-speed drives will still be advantageous for most other applications. |bA BATTERY OF TESTS |b |b|bAll the tests were conducted on an ALR Evolution IV Multimedia PC system with a 486DX2/66-MHz CPU, 16MB of RAM, and a 320MB hard drive. The SCSI CD-ROM drives were run through a battery of tests using two different controllers. One test employed a Future Domain TMC-1680 controller, with Future Domain driver software. Since the Chinon CDS-535 isnt yet supported by the Future Domain software, we used a copy of Corels CorelSCSI CD-ROM driver instead for testing this drive. By using the same SCSI controller and, when possible, the same device driver, we sought to reveal basic differences between drives, uncolored by the manufacturers fine tuning. We then tested the SCSI CD-ROM drives using controllers and drivers provided by the manufacturers. With the exception of the Pioneer quad-speed drive (which did not come with a controller) and the Hitachi (which has a proprietary interface), all drives were tested in both configurations. Our test for seek time involved looking up a single phrase from among 80,000 articles on a text-heavy CD-ROM. We then timed the transfer of an 11MB file to gauge the sustained transfer rate of the drive. To further evaluate drive performance, we timed directory lookups using the DIR/S command on two different CD-ROMs. We then measured the time it took to load the COOL.AVI video file, and evaluated the video quality during playback. Using seek, throughput, MPC throughput, and 1/3 seek time tests provided by Aris Entertainment, we then benchmarked all the drives. To further test the drives video playback, we played a one-minute 24-bit color video file from Aris MPC Wizard 2.0 on each drive, at transfer rates of 100, 300, and 600KB/sec, in each of three video formats: AVI, Intel Indeo, and Supermatch. Finally, we tested for general compatibility and error correction by attempting to read CD-ROMs known to be troublesome on some single-speed drives. All drives passed this particular test. |bCONCLUSION |b |b|bAll the double-speed drives showed considerably enhanced performance over standard single-speed drives. With the exception of the Toshiba drive, which was clearly the fastest, the drives we tested had very similar performance characteristics. The performance differences between the highest and lowest scoring drives may not be wide enough to justify a large price difference between the competing units. Compare actual street prices in your area carefully. None of the drives had trouble smoothly playing back video files recorded for 150KB/sec data transfer rates. Our standard test files, like Microsofts COOL.AVI file, played fine. On the other hand, on several single-speed drives, we had a number of problems with that same file. The double-speed drives provided the performance improvement we needed to smoothly and accurately play digital video files. Video clips recorded for 300KB/sec and 600KB/sec transfer rates were not, however, so playable on the double-speed drives--only some of the drives could handle AVI- and Supermatch-compressed video files at 300KB/sec, without sound or picture breakup. No drive, including the quad-speed Pioneer, was able to keep up with a 600KB/sec transfer rate. If you plan to search through multiple small files on your CD-ROM disks, or transfer many large files from CD-ROM to your hard drive, or use graphic- or video-intensive titles and applications, a double-speed drive is for you. The increasing availability of double-speed drives will undoubtedly push prices down, paving the way for an even easier single-speed vs. double-speed decision, regardless of your application. You cant turn back the clock on technology--especially when its moving twice as fast. |bCHINON CDS-535 |b |b|bThe Chinon CDS-535 internal CD-ROM drives performance was among the slowest of the drives reviewed here. It still out-performs single-speed drives for seek-related operations by a wide margin. The Chinon drive uses the standard caddy method for inserting compact discs into the reading mechanism. The unit provides added dust protection with a second shutter, which closes when the caddy is inserted. The SCSI chain must be terminated with an external adapter, and SCSI device addresses are set through the use of jumpers. Addressing and connection are easy, thanks to clear markings on the drive. At a base price of $645, the Chinon drive does not offer the best price/performance, but its performance was not significantly slower than the majority of the double-speed drives. If you find one at a low street price, it would be a good buy. |bHITACHI CDR-6700 |b |b|bThe Hitachi CDR 6700 failed to live up to some of its quoted performance specifications. The drives full seek-time performance was the slowest of any drive tested--in some tests the unit barely met MPC specifications. However, the 1/3 seek time test yielded good results. Aside from taking a few seconds longer to search through extremely large files or directory structures, performance is still quite good. The early production unit we tested had a minor problem ejecting a disk with the power off. Although there is an emergency release opening, the release didnt work reliably. At $795, the Hitachi is a bit pricey for the less-than-stellar performance it delivers. |bNEC CDR-38 |b |b|bNEC offers three double-speed drives: standard internal and external models, and a portable unit, the CDR-38. This small profile (approximately 5" x 2" x 9") external reader can be used on a desktop or on the road with a notebook PC. It features a standard SCSI connector at its rear, and uses an included 12-volt power supply. Switches on the bottom allow you to easily set a SCSI address, turn termination on or off, select between SCSI-1 and SCSI-2 interfaces, and turn MultiSpin (NECs brand for its double-speed capability) on or off. The CDR-38 doesnt use a caddy. Instead, its lid opens to allow you to insert the CD-ROM, like most portable CD audio players. When the lid is closed, the disc spins up to speed. To connect this model to a laptop computer, you can use your laptops built-in SCSI adapter (if it has one), or one of several parallel port-to-SCSI adapters. Depending upon the performance of your notebooks parallel port, you may not be able to take advantage of the double-speed performance of this drive. NECs internal and external double-speed drives have considerably faster access times than the portable--they report an average 280 millisecond access time as opposed to the 400ms access time of the portable, partly due to a larger memory cache. Due to their limited supply, the CDR-74 and CDR-84 internal and external units were not available for testing. The CDR-38s performance places it squarely in the middle of the pack. At $465, this portable drive is affordable, but its suitable mainly for those who need to take their CD-ROMs with them out of the office. Otherwise, NECs desktop models are better choices. |bTEXEL DM-5024 |b |b|bThe Texel DM-5024 presents a great buy at $499. The DM-5024 performed second only to the Toshiba drive, and is a solid contender for the top spot in our buyers guide. The drive is shipped with a Trantor SCSI controller, and SCSI driver software that provides control over a wide range of SCSI devices, including tape drives and scanners. We tested an external configuration of the CD-5024. SCSI termination can be set on or off by the flip of an attached switch, and the SCSI device number is easily set. Like the Toshiba and Chinon drives, this unit has a secondary dust cover to protect the laser optics inside. The mechanical eject button pops the caddy out even if the power fails. |bTOSHIBA TXM-3401 |b |b|bThe $695 Toshiba TXM-3401 was the best overall performer of the drives reviewed. In MPC throughput, the Toshiba was almost one-third faster than the other drives tested. We reviewed the external configuration, which came with a Future Domain SCSI adapter, and a Toshiba device driver. Changing the SCSI address is easy: You turn a knob to point to the correct drive letter. The drive cannot be terminated by setting a switch; instead, a terminator, included with the unit, plugs into one of the two SCSI connectors on the rear. If you covet all the advantages that a 300KB/sec drive provides, the Toshiba TXM-3401 is the product to choose. |bPIONEER DRM-604X |b |b|bThe Pioneer DRM-604X may turn out to be the Ferrari of CD-ROM drives. Unfortunately, the early model we received did not ship with a dedicated controller, and it did not function reliably enough with our generic SCSI adapter to compare it against the other drives tested. The six-disc capacity, $1,845 DRM-604X is a quad-speed drive--four times as fast as standard CD-ROM drives. Our testing proved it capable of sustaining an astounding (for CD-ROM) data throughput rate of more than 630KB/second. The DRM-604X is more than just fast, though. It can also handle as many as six discs in its removable magazine, making it the only CD-ROM changer that we had the opportunity to look at. Having a six-disc magazine is something of a mixed blessing. It is easier to switch discs simply by changing drive letters than it is to remove one from a caddy and replace it with a new one. It takes just a few seconds to switch from one disc in the magazine to another. A minor disadvantage is that you have to place the discs in the magazine label side down, making it difficult to know which CDs youve loaded. If you need to access more than one disc at a time, the Pioneer drive is for you. The DRM-604X may be the power-users CD-ROM drive of choice--if you can afford it. |bCHINON CDS-535 |b |b|bPrice (internal/external, without adapter)|m300|b$645/$745 |b|bRequires Caddy for CDs|m300|bY |b|bAdditional Dust Protection|m300|bY |b|bSCSI Interface|m300|bY |b|bFull SCSI Command Support|m300|bY |b|bCD-ROM XA Capable|m300|bY |b|bPhoto CD Support|m300|bY |b|bWarranty Period|m300|b1 Year |b|bModels Available (internal/external/portable)|m300|bI/E |b|b Vendor Name |m050|bChinon America |b|bPhone |m050|b310-533-0274 |b|bProduct Number |m050|b1361 |b|b |bHITACHI CDR-6700 |b |b|bPrice (internal/external, without adapter)|m300|b$795/$915 |b|bRequires Caddy for CDs|m300|bY |b|bAdditional Dust Protection|m300|bY |b|bSCSI Interface|m300|bN |b|bFull SCSI Command Support|m300|bN |b|bCD-ROM XA Capable|m300|bY |b|bPhoto CD Support|m300|bY |b|bWarranty Period|m300|b2 Year |b|bModels Available (internal/external/portable)|m300|bI/E |b|b Vendor Name |m050|bHitachi Home Electronics |b|bPhone |m050|b310-537-8383 |b|bProduct Number |m050|b1362 |b|b |bNEC CDR-38 |b |b|bPrice (internal/external, without adapter)|m300|b$465 (portable), $560 |b(int.)/$615 (ext.) |b|bRequires Caddy for CDs|m300|bN |b|bAdditional Dust Protection|m300|bN |b|bSCSI Interface|m300|bY |b|bFull SCSI Command Support|m300|bY |b|bCD-ROM XA Capable|m300|bY |b|bPhoto CD Support|m300|bY |b|bWarranty Period|m300|b2 Year |b|bModels Available (internal/external/portable)|m300|bI/E/P |b|b Vendor Name |m050|bNEC Technologies |b|bPhone |m050|b800-388-8888 |b|bProduct Number |m050|b1363 |b|b |bTEXEL DM-5024 |b |b|bPrice (internal/external, without adapter)|m300|b$499/$599 |b|bRequires Caddy for CDs|m300|bY |b|bAdditional Dust Protection|m300|bY |b|bSCSI Interface|m300|bY |b|bFull SCSI Command Support|m300|bY |b|bCD-ROM XA Capable|m300|bY |b|bPhoto CD Support|m300|bY |b|bWarranty Period|m300|b1 Year |b|bModels Available (internal/external/portable)|m300|bI/E |b|b Vendor Name |m050|bTexel America |b|bPhone |m050|b800-886-3935 |b|bProduct Number |m050|b1364 |b|b |bTOSHIBA TXM-3401 |b |b|bPrice (internal/external, without adapter)|m300|b$695/895; $925 |b(portable) |b|bRequires Caddy for CDs|m300|bY |b|bAdditional Dust Protection|m300|bY |b|bSCSI Interface|m300|bY |b|bFull SCSI Command Support|m300|bY |b|bCD-ROM XA Capable|m300|bY |b|bPhoto CD Support|m300|bY |b|bWarranty Period|m300|b1 Year |b|bModels Available (internal/external/portable)|m300|bI/E/P |b|b Vendor Name |m050|bToshiba America |b|bPhone |m050|b714-583-3111 |b|bProduct Number |m050|b1363 |b|b |bPIONEER DRM-604X |b |b|bPrice (internal/external, without adapter)|m300|b$1,845 |b|bRequires Caddy for CDs|m300|bN |b|bAdditional Dust Protection|m300|bN |b|bSCSI Interface|m300|bY |b|bFull SCSI Command Support|m300|bY |b|bCD-ROM XA Capable|m300|bY |b|bPhoto CD Support|m300|bY |b|bWarranty Period|m300|b1 Year |b|bModels Available (internal/external/portable)|m300|bI |b|b Vendor Name |m050|bPioneer Electronics |b|bPhone |m050|b800-LASER-ON |b|bProduct Number |m050|b1366 |b|b ~╜&╛ 4 ~ ╜ EÅ╙ ZáΩ3y íσ*u┐ Ω/r Ä║┐RÜ╪ i▒± ■ `¬≤: å ╩
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S Ö σ '!t! ¿!─!╟!"P"ò"┘"# G#w#z#┐# $N$ö$╥$ π$-%q%╕%■% &N& T&¢& A top analyst peers into the future of technology A lot of smoke threatens to smother the potential fire of multimedia. Let me posit a notion of a pop futures index that uses someones or somethings exposure in the media (smoke) as a unit of measure. Some media darlings, whether a person--Marky Mark, Trip Hawkins, Michael Jordan--or an issue/thing--Last Action Hero, Bills Haircut, the Return of Bell Bottoms--are so ubiquitous that they become commodities on the index--and they can then be bought, sold, and speculated on. Whatll you give me for August Schwarzenegger? How about September Bosnia? On such an index, multimedia would have been a big winner for anybody speculating in its citations over the last couple of years. The number of conferences, articles, think pieces, reports, studies, round tables, and sidebars in which multimedia has been the centerpiece has been, well, off the charts. North of Madonna, even. Now lets further suppose that these commodities can be evaluated by comparing the actual impact or performance of the person/issue/thing against the value theyve fetched at any given time on the index (fire). By this method, multimedia is a Grandfalloon, a loser. I give it a valuation above Bills Haircut, but below Marky Mark. Against this backdrop of much smoke/little fire, what can we expect? Heres one persons compendium of 10 megatrends that will affect the index in the next 10 years. |b1. THE EMERGENCE OF PRODUCTIVITY PRODUCTS |b|b The first and biggest problem with multimedia in the business market, of course, is that few products integrate true multimedia functionality with work or productivity-related applications. Products such as Paradox for Windows, and other robust databases, and Lotus Notes--which I consider the first business multimedia software package--are changing this. They point to the beginnings of a development process that ties real time multitasking-oriented computing to the amazing efficiency gains in desktop hardware (CPU performance improvements and memory price reductions). |b2. NEW TYPES OF DOCUMENTS |b|b The meaning of the term document, so many of which dont get read anyway, is changing and will continue to do so. If full-motion video is a part of regular business communications and presentations, the notion of documents and the power yielded to those who control them, or to those who do good foils as IBM used to put it, will wane. Power will then fall to those who understand the nuances of communicating through video and manipulating a new lexicon based on images. While we dont know what this style of communication will look like exactly, key skills will include the ability to convey ideas through symbols and images, to create what might be called audio bullets, and probably an eye for color coordination. |b3. SHATTERED WORK METHODS--OR BUST |b|b Multimedia computing represents the rise of groupware, shared information, multitasking, and working and communicating with visual and audio elements that are beyond what we work with today. To a certain degree, then, multimedias success is dependent on the extent to which we change our work processes. There is plenty of discussion of how to re-engineer the work process at think tanks such as Xerox PARC and elsewhere. More and more of the jobs worth having are brain intensive, in which the end product is a document. The person producing this document must have uninterrupted time to think and conceptualize, but must also, because of the need for productivity, consult or integrate information from parts of the company or operations beyond his or her usual expertise. Such work is paradoxical--it forces the worker into isolation, to think and write, while at the same time forcing him back toward other people, to seek input. When all these factors become unbearable, work processes will get re-engineered. A lexicon for requesting and sharing information in real time will emerge, while real-time communications will be bolstered by the ability to share more than one medium, whether voice, text, faxes, images, full-motion video, or a combination. Groups (formed across different locations) will become more important for various types of task sharing, facilitating and forcing the development of better groupware processes and products. This has been seen everywhere from automobile assembly lines to merger and acquisition teams, in which the completion of a task must pass through several interrelated team members, each of whom makes a contribution that may impact or alter the shape of previous contributions. |b4. THE NETWORK'S THE THING |b |b|bThe needs for sharing, for access and control of multiple sources of information, and for the ability to create and manipulate images will all be answered by network distribution and delivery of multimedia elements. Thanks to some advanced work being done today, the vision of a user conducting real-time work on a shared diagram or spreadsheet with a colleague in another city (via real-time videoconferencing) is at hand. From todays dedicated, private, and expensive versions of such groupware or shared white space will come video with scalable/variable speed and cost, full-motion video files, image databases on servers, group spreadsheets with voice appendages, modeling and rendering software, and the ability to multitask between any one of several multimedia elements. These will be commonplace characteristics of work life. Todays users are fascinated by such possibilities, but are confused about how to deploy them. Retooling networks can cost from $2,000 to $15,000 per user, depending on the application being developed and the existing architecture. But the work being done today with compression for LANs, packet video, ATM (asynchronous transfer mode), and fractals will lead to network infrastructures that will support full-motion video store-and-forward (for those who most need it) by about 1997. The end result? Vertical markets still choked with paper processing --such as health care and insurance, real estate, and some segments of banking--will benefit enormously. Video-based diagnostics, much discussed but little implemented, will become a reality, as will electronic templates (rather than todays forms) for the preparation and processing of claims. |b5. THE RETURN OF THE WEAVER |b |b|bIn pre-modern times, the weaver stayed at home and spun yarn in the cottage. This system had certain characteristics: no commute, an off-site hierarchy (the king), few health or other benefits, a certain sense of isolation, and limited opportunities for career advancement. One of multimedias advantages is that it makes work at home possible and productive. One of the disadvantages, especially given the network component, is that even while working at home, you will be reachable by a full-motion version of the off-site hierarchy. If you dont work at home yet, chances are you will by 2003. What must ultimately be protected is a certain sense of off time, when privacy can be protected and ones brain can be recharged by engaging in non-work activities. Even the weaver went to a festival now and then. |b6 and 7. PIVOTAL DECISIONS BY SCULLEY AND ALLEN |b |b|bWork has been changing, but worker tools havent been adequately developed yet to address these changes. This will not be the case in 10 years, when mobile computing platforms communicate in mixed media elements, including video. Probably one of the most important products of the multimedia age will be the video-capable digital assistant. It will function as a portable organizer and communicator, provide computing functions (although not necessarily requiring keyboard input), while it also serves as a newspaper, game player, and Walkman--all under 5 pounds, in color, and for $200. Apples John Sculley has a vision of this evolution. Whether or not AT&Ts Bob Allen agrees with it or invests in it is another matter. But somebody is going to create a digital wireless network, and the devices which will be used upon it. The decisions these guys make in the next two to three years will have enormous influence on how fast and how well portable wireless products serve us. |b8. THE WAXING AND WANING OF MICROSOFT |b |b|bMicrosoft, the great consolidator, will now be challenged to provide leadership in the development of cutting-edge applications that truly harness the potential of multimedia for its many users. (Its not clear that anybody--Microsoft included--understands what business users want with multimedia, particularly in the area of networking.) If this leadership vacuum is not filled, the way may be open for . . . |b9. THE POWERPC'S END RUN? |b |b|bThe potential effect of the PowerPC chip--being developed by IBM, Motorola, and Apple--is enormous. The combination of the IBM/Apple Taligent joint operating system with PowerPC chips can challenge the successors to todays Windows/Intel-based machines. Such a scenario, though, presumes that Windows NT-driven machines have not already overwhelmed the market by about 1996 or so. |b10. THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN USERS AND VOTERS |b |b|bDo users want change? Do voters? The demand among business users for new applications these days almost always points to applications that manipulate and control graphics, images, and other art or publishing capabilities. This is not just an extension of the desktop publishing revolution, but the desire to communicate in more dynamic and expressive ways. Its in the air: The abilities to compress and edit full-motion video on a CD-ROM, to connect a Kodak Photo CD unit to a PC, to play Video for Windows movies, and to videoconference are all harbingers of the kinds of functions and applications we will be using by the multimedia year 2003. Multimedia will have a brighter future than bell bottoms-- you can bet on that. Steve Reynolds is director of interactive multimedia research for LINK Resources Corp. in New York City. Γ@Ip & ) r ▒ ∙ Cç ⌐⌠7z╣≈A b⌐≡6 Z₧Γ)j¼≡ ZƒΘ. eéà─ Gë╧ π' d ¬ δ %
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: é ═ Ω 1 x ╜ 6â ₧τ)o ┼ Fç╤Z g«≈?ä╩ 0r┤°AÇ╔ +.x Üα# g«≤ g»⌠ 7Ç ì╙ Wáδ0x╡√Gç╠ _úΘ- l │ √ < H K ô ┌ ( e ¡ ⌡ 6 Z ƒ Φ 5 » ° =!ü! ╚!▌!α! " e"«"≤" ·"A# ï#╬#$Y$ ¢$▐$(%p% ¥%½%«%°%4&~& ╔&'J'ì'╒' (h(½( ▒(ε(+)r)│)·)G*è*╚* ≡*/+p+╣+ ,B,ë,╙, -i-½-∩- ■-@.â. Ä.╥./T/ y/└/ ▐/ 0]0á0Φ001 t1╣1√1F2ï2 Æ2┘2 3a3₧3τ3 3F4É4╒4 ∩445~5─5 6 -6i6│6²6E7Æ7╪7 ≥7.8s8║8∙8A9à9╔9 δ9/: q:╣:; K;É;┘;< (<=<@<Ä<█< √<==ä=┼= > >Z>£>Σ>$?g? ▒?≥?<@ü@╩@ARAæA ╚ABVB¥B ╡B∙B;CüC êCÿC¢CσC+DtD╡D E E[EáE▀E FeF »F≥F8GgG«G∙G?HwH┬H I |bPORTABLE MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATIONS |b |b|bMultimedia is a powerful communications tool, ideally suited for the persuasive presentations of the corporate presenter, traveling salesperson, or professional speaker. The power of digital media allows you to use audio, video, and animation in a portable set-up you can carry to your audience easily-- instead of requiring them to come to some glorified high-tech mini-theater. Indeed, in todays glitz-oriented society, the pizzazz of multimedia may be necessary to capture and hold an audiences attention. We live in a TV-oriented society, says Michael Callahan, marketing director for multimedia products at General Parametrics. To be an effective presenter and communicator, you must engage your audience and stimulate them throughout your presentation. Your ability to do that will determine your level of success. According to Callahan, the expectations of todays audience are rising: while 85 percent of most presentations still use slides and overheads, those are increasingly becoming seen as archaic. Multimedia is a more dynamic, effective medium, he says. In todays extremely competitive world, the presenter only has a few minutes to make a killer impression, seconds Graphix Zone President Chuck Cortright. If I walk in with a portable multimedia system, I can present a powerful message to the client, one that is much more effective than any 35mm or overhead presentation. The audience is going to be much more attentive, more excited, and will remember my message a lot more than the other guys. Scott Hawthorne, creative director of HSC Softwares Digital Beach production division, notes that multimedia can have effects no other medium can duplicate. With interactivity, retention rates are much higher than with a linear presentation. The audience absorbs more by having an experience, instead of just a vanilla presentation. |bTHE MESSAGE FOR THE MEDIUM |b |b|bDesigning a winning presentation involves considering many variables--location, audience, message, and, most importantly, time. No amount of hardware can help you if you havent mastered the fundamentals of effective communication. We asked the experts for some tips, techniques, and recommendations on useful multimedia tools to get you started. Everyone agreed that preparation is the most crucial step for every presenter, and the one most commonly ignored. Know what your message is: What information do you want your audience to carry away, and what call to action are you promoting? You have to have your message and objective clearly defined, Cortright asserts. The first step is to define the audience and the objectives, says Callahan. I then identify the characteristics of the audience, and match my message to the results I want to produce. Then I create a storyboard, image by image, adding video, textual message, audio components, and speaker notes. I dont outline. Outlining can make things simple for some people, but Ive found a storyboard is most efficient for establishing good flow in a presentation. Long before I sit down at the computer, Ive thought out what I want to cover, explains Francine Savage of 3Ms Visual Systems Division. Then I can go straight to the graphics and design the presentation slide by slide. Savage doesnt use an outline step either, preferring to plan the presentation as if laying out a film storyboard. Cortright, on the other hand, finds outlining necessary, which is why I like PowerPoint and Persuasion. The second step is to find a creative or fun way to communicate the main message. We come up with a creative concept that gets the message across in a fun way, so the audience is more likely to pay attention, Hawthorne says. When producing your multimedia presentation, be careful not to go too far--all the experts caution against the overuse of glitz. Audio and video should be used occasionally, to keep the attention of the audience, Hawthorne continues. You dont want an onslaught of technical wizardry. Multimedia is a powerful tool for aiding a presenter, but its overuse can divert the audience from the message the presenter is trying to convey. Multimedia should be an embellishment, not a distraction. Cortright compares the danger to the early days of desktop publishing. You have to know what video is suited for, he explains, when to bring in sound and what kind. You can over-do the sound and animation, just like they used to overdo the fonts. We called it the ransom note syndrome with desktop publishing, because of the number of fonts used in every document. With multimedia, we call it the Beirut syndrome, because there are too many flying bullets! Savage notes that a study commissioned by 3M found that while too many transitions can be distracting, animation helps people grasp information. Growing bar charts capture the audiences attention and clarify points. We found that its best to use the same transition effect throughout a presentation, she adds, unless you really want to emphasize a point, because otherwise its distracting--the audience tries to anticipate your next effect instead of paying attention to the information. |bTHE EYES HAVE IT |b |b|bThe individual elements of multimedia appeal to different senses, and need to be considered separately. Keep the visuals simple but enticing, Callahan states. The goal is to present an effective message, not an art show. Too many presenters add a photo or clip art piece to every slide just because they can. Savages 3M study found that art not directly linked to the topic being presented detracts from the audiences understanding. Graphics should be used only to clearly illustrate a point. Hawthorne believes graphics can also take the edge off boring technical content, with a fun twist. His company often uses an animated character as a presentation host, to explain boring technical details. For our computer clients, he says, we use a pocket-protector kind of guy. Digital video is a powerful communicative tool, he thinks, but its still hard to use. Digital video has many limitations on playback rates and window size, Callahan states. And the required expertise on the part of the creator is large. Its still not a pragmatic solution for presenters. If your presentation calls for large amounts of full-screen, full-motion video, analog video is still a good bet. Analog video from a laser disc or VCR can be used easily in a computer-controlled presentation without being digitized. Digitizing video merely stores it on the hard drive in binary code, where it can easily be edited, manipulated, and transported. Analog video requires carrying around more hardware. But for today at least, digitizing video also means a dramatic loss in quality, and immense storage costs, when compared to the regular format. Boards such as Creative Labs Video Blaster pipe analog video through the board to the CPU, allowing PC graphic overlays on top of a video image. Digital video still needs a true standard, reports Callahan. There are many standards, and they are not all interchangeable, he continues. Also, creating digital clips has to be much easier, and accessible to normal businesspeople. And the playback performance has to meet the audiences expectations--30 frames per second on a full screen. Hawthorne stresses the importance of a fast machine if you want to use digital video. For playing back Indeo files, he uses a 50MHz 486 with a 600MB hard drive, 16MB of RAM, and an accelerated video display. |bLISTEN UP |b |b|bEvery multimedia PC is equipped to add sound to a presentation. You can record narration easily with an MPC sound card. Complete libraries of digitized sound effects and music sorted by feel are now widely available. Digital sound is a quick, easy way for people to embellish a presentation, Callahan states. Its widespread and easy to use --its not that technical. Sounds can be tagged to a particular image or bullet in most presentation packages, and the basic Windows Sound Recorder can be used for entering narration. Hawthorne thinks music is a powerful tool for creating mood, and for adding sense of unity to a presentation. We use music to hold the entire show together, he says, and to give a dramatic feeling. It adds a lot to the imagery and the overall feel of a multimedia show. Youll need to practice a little to synchronize your sound and visuals. Cortright notes that there are lots of ways to use sound. Do you want to wake the audience up? Are you trying to set a mood? The music can be threatening, or it can be positive and upbeat. You have to know how youre going to use it. The sound you choose has to reflect your goals. |bPRESENTATION TOOLS |b |b|bOnce youve defined your message, and assembled your sounds, animations, and video clips, what do you use to put it all together? In our previous listing of multimedia presentation packages (April 1993, page 40), we tallied more than a dozen tools. The number grows every month. Traditional presentation programs are adding multimedia functionality, either directly or through the use of OLE (object linking and embedding). You dont need some far-out package, Cortright says. PowerPoint and Persuasion now incorporate multimedia data types. Theyre both very powerful. For slightly more multimedia power, Cortright states hes very impressed with Gold Disks Astound and Macromedias product family. Asymetrixs Compel and Macromedias Action are powerful programs for controlling sound, animation, and video in a presentation. For beginners, Asymetrixs affordable MediaBlitz is a good introduction to working with multiple media to produce a multimedia show. |bOUT ON TOUR |b |b|bHow many trips does it take to set up your equipment? Thats a crucial question when it comes to multimedia presentation hardware. Professional presenters dont want to take up client or audience time with wiring worries. And with a simple setup, there is less chance of a mishap. The coolest way to pitch a demo is with a battery-powered notebook and powered speakers, says Hawthorne, who uses a Media Vision AudioPort parallel sound adapter with his notebook. The multimedia notebook is the power tool of the 90s. You dont have to fuss with power cords or cabling, and they hold up well. Eighty to ninety percent of the time, you can close the deal. Hawthorne also says its easy to hook up to the A/V system when he brings a PC-based presentation into a board room. Cortright has found one machine that gives him the power and convenience he needs. The $9,599 Toshiba T6400MM combines an active-matrix color portable 50MHz 486 PC, Altec Lansing speakers, and a Media Share Mambo DVI/Ethernet board. The card also has a SCSI connection for an optional internal CD-ROM drive, and will play stereo sound files (but no MIDI). I run long multimedia presentations off just that one machine, Cortright says. The Toshiba is not a lightweight; the T6400MM weighs almost 13 pounds. The entire system comes in a wheeled, rugged Samsonite luggage case. Dolch Computer Systems also offers a portable, self-contained, active-matrix color multimedia PC. The MACH systems are smaller, lighter, and more expensive than Toshibas, starting at $13,416. A 16-bit sound card, CD-ROM drive, and three digital video boards are optional. The MACHs have a unique modular design: Dolchs MultiSlice modules snap onto the main unit, adding two expansion slots. This design works especially well if you use, for example, the CD-ROM slice for preparing a presentation and then leave the slice behind when you hit the road. (The number of slices is primarily limited by your arm, not the system.) The unit we tested performed extremely well. The MACH systems are an ideal size and weight for a portable multimedia system--and their pricing reflects this. Other portable multimedia systems, most noticeably modular models from NEC, reflect the integration of multimedia abilities to color notebooks. Multimedia normally requires sound hardware and a CD-ROM drive. But most notebook PCs cant accommodate a sound card or CD-ROM interface. For those cards, you need the 16-bit slots of a desktop PC, which is hardly a portable solution. Fortunately, vendors are providing multimedia answers for the horde of notebook-carrying presenters. The parallel port has proved to be a powerful conduit for sound recording and playback. Media Visions Audioport, Creative Labs PortBlaster, Logitechs AudioMan, DSP Technologies Port-Able Sound, Vocaltecs CAT, and others all use that connection to give a notebook PC sound abilities. These adapters all provide digital audio recording and playback of varying quality, and some offer MIDI synthesis as well. The parallel port has also been turned into a CD-ROM interface, with parallel-to-SCSI adapters from companies such as Trantor Systems. These dont offer the data transfer speed of a standard interface card, but they get the job done and let any portable PC user run a SCSI CD-ROM drive. PC-MCIA, the credit-card-size interface technology, is also making its way into the multimedia area. Trantor recently announced a PC-MCIA SCSI adapter, which will allow even sub-notebook and palm-top PCs to use a CD-ROM drive. New Media Corporation and Corel are also coming out with similar devices. Vendors are starting to talk of PC-MCIA sound adapters as well. In a few years, both sound technology and CD-ROM drive interfaces will find their way into tiny chip sets that will be incorporated into desktop and portable PCs. For todays outbound presenter, the above solutions fill the multimedia bill. A portable multimedia PC ordinarily does not have a display that one can use to reach a large audience. Cortright notes that while he uses the active-matrix color display of his Toshiba when presenting to five or fewer people, he switches to a VGA monitor or projection system when he needs to address a larger group. We have a big theater at the Graphix Zone, with Sony 1270-Q large-screen projectors, the Cadillac of displays, Cortright says. On the road, Cortright has turned to a single-gun Sayett projector, The portable plugs right into it. At a trade show in Chicago with an audience of 250 people, Cortright recalls, the projectors light bulb blew out. But the thing automatically switched to a back-up bulb. To me that feature alone is worth a thousand dollars. Most of the professional presenters could not recommend LCD projection panels, devices which connect to a PCs VGA output and sit atop a standard overhead projector, acting like a moving transparency. Hawthorne notes you cant control the luminance of the overhead projector youre using, unless you carry one with you--which defeats the whole purpose of having a lightweight display device. He recommends instead self-contained LCD projectors, which take video signals and display them on any flat surface. Sharp LCD projectors are excellent, for board rooms or auditoriums, Hawthorne says. People are impressed--its a leading technogadget. Im personally not crazy about LCD panels, Cortright agrees, even though the quality is getting better. Theyre a pain to use, and bulky, and you have to worry about the right kind of overhead projector being available. Savage believes projection panels can be a viable option if you know that your presentation location will have a powerful overhead projector, ready for use by those that are still working with traditional transparencies. |bNEXT SLIDE, PLEASE |b |b|bOne difficulty of delivering a computer-based presentation, once the hard work of preparing it is done, is controlling the proceedings without sitting at a keyboard behind a monitor. There is a huge and growing range of choices for running the show remotely, such as Mind Path Technologies IR90, a multi-function remote device, or Logitechs new ergonomic MouseMan, a radio device that frees you from maintaining the line-of-sight that infrared controllers require. At the high end, General Parametrics Video Show system downloads all the presentation elements from a PC and then combines them in its proprietary software, for playback on its transportable setup. Callahan says the $4,995 to $7,699 (depending on options) notebook-sized presentation system comes with stereo CD sound, full-motion analog video and animation, and universal video outputs for any type of monitor. Hawthorne likes using Appoints Thumbelina, a miniature hand-held mouse with a 9-foot cord, since the infrared devices hed tried had proven to be unreliable. Recently, he has begun to use the Wacom tablet and cordless pen as a presentation controller. The tablet connects to the PC with a short cord, but the presenter merely has to hold the lightweight cordless pen, touching a corresponding place on the tablet when necessary to activate an on-screen button or command. I highly recommend the Wacom tablet for presentations, he says. Savage has had better experiences with infrared remote controls. They allow presenters to free themselves from the equipment, she states. You can roam around and interact with the audience. Theyre easy to use. 3M provides such a device. Others work in a more traditional way. I personally dont use remote controls, says Cortright. I might if I could find one that worked dependably. But I stay close to the computer and use the keyboard and mouse. |bSHOW AND TELL |b |b|bWorking on a computer has its pitfalls. Cortright points out that the endless ability to make small changes leads to what he calls creeping elegance. Once a presentation is taking shape, you never get it perfect, because you always see how you can make it better. Theres a fine balance between time and quality. Quality is the highest priority--but you have to get it done. As the power of multimedia presentations becomes easier to wield, and the cost of these tools becomes more affordable, more presenters are expected to make the leap from slides and foils. Hopefully the phenomenon of the CEO standing in front of a computer trade show audience and announcing his new powerful multimedia program with the words, Heres my slide on the subject will be soon be a thing of the past. Vendors today are bringing business presenters more abilities with simpler software interfaces, and more high-end, affordable systems to run the software. The advantages of multimedia presentations--portability, clarity, entertainment, interactivity, and higher audience retention are now within the grasp of any presenter. It no longer costs megabucks for traveling presenters to make the step from the slides, overheads, and bulky equipment to animated, musicallyscored productions that play on lightweight, portable systems. If youre not already delivering your off-site presentations with multimedia, start now--before your competition beats you to it. >"X₧ * - y ─ V£Σ* Dè╠X ─ Hæ█ "k»±7 L}Ç╠bªπ$g¼ ╦ W û ▀ )
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@J@É@ û@█@%AiA½A≥A9BéB ▒B═B╨B ChC░C±C1D}D ╕D DCEåE╤EFcFúF≡F :GPGSGÖG▀G HeH½H ═HI\IªI≡I9J~J íJ▐J KeK«K·KBL uL¼L»LMOM ÜMΘM)NrN«N ┐NOTOóOΘO ·OJPæP┌P#QgQ░Q≈Q R`RºR∞R)S 8SèS ╨S TZT |T╦TUXU ìU▐U)VpV»V ╛V WSW cW½WΦW |bCATCHING THE BUSINESS MULTIMEDIA WAVE |b |b|bIf you could surf the channels of corporate America, you might overhear grousing that multimedia is too costly, too difficult, or even irrelevant. You might hear concerns about the lack of skilled resources, preserving the existing investment in hardware, and, of course, the bottom line that pulse through corporate thought like the deep bass on a boom box. But you would also hear other voices, talking about how multimedia can help communicate, collaborate, reach customers, increase productivity, and leverage existing assets. Like living entities, businesses strive for survival and growth while keeping up with constant change and inevitable evolution. Any new strategy must promote the growth and value of a company, and issues of purpose, cost, and resources are at the heart of most such planning. Multimedia decisions are no different. Right now, the business answer to the question Why multimedia? often leads to other questions ranging from Whats the point? to Sounds good, but why dont we wait and see? to Were sold! How do we begin? Complicating the process of evaluation is the fact that multimedia often spans significant, but difficult-to-measure change, through improved work flow and more efficient learning, that varies from company to company. Its not easy to ride the wild surf of rapid technological change without facing some daunting waves. But whether meeting a single tsunami or the relentless pounding by multiple breakers, many companies have weathered the challenge, and found the advantage multimedia brings to their organizations. |bBASIC BUSINESS ISSUES: THE POWER OF A PURPOSE |b |b|bIn a business environment where the emphasis is on tightening belts and directly increasing productivity, multimedia can be perceived as a frill, a nice-to-have, but not essential, application. This attitude is especially common since the prevailing image of multimedia is a computer-based slide show with music, animation, and video clips that rival MTV--multimedia for its own sake. If the business of business is business, then multimedia in business must also mean business. The real value comes when the technology fulfills a purpose in ways that cannot be done by other means. Atlanta-based Holiday Inn Worldwide, for example, needed to quickly bring hotel personnel at hundreds of sites up to speed on a $60 million global property and reservation management system. Previously, training involved sending instructors and students to and from different sites to give and receive live courses. This approach might be sufficient if it wasnt for high employee turnover rates, a fact of life in the hotel industry. We knew we had to have some way of training our worldwide employees on the new operating system, says Jewel DeWeese, vice president of franchise service and education for Holiday Inn Worldwide. With such a large investment in technology, it didnt seem smart not to have a comparable training system that would sustain us through limited manpower and high turnover. Multimedia provides just what you need, just in case, just in time, and just enough. We saw multimedia training as a must-invest form of insurance. Holiday Inn worked with MicroMentor, a Boston-based multimedia development firm, to create a module that provides interactive training on rate and inventory management. That module has served as a demo piece that allowed us to say look what can be done with multimedia. The success of the first module led to the development of two more modules, by Atlanta-based Floyd Design, to support the property management and reservations systems. Holiday Inn selected IBM Ultimedia PS/2s because of their availability and IBMs support structure. Plans are to install Ultimedia machines in the more than 1,600 Holiday Inn Worldwide locations. Each will be equipped with a CD-ROM drive, 16-bit stereo audio, XGA graphics, and a front panel that includes volume control. Given the mission-critical need to get the reservation system up and running, Holiday Inn committed fully to multimedia training. We honestly dont know what we would have done without it, says DeWeese. Fulfilling a purpose, then, is what justifies multimedia in business. If multimedia is not tied in to a real business reason, its not going to get funded in a corporation, asserts Derrick Kikuchi, program manager of the Media Application Learning Laboratory for Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto, California. |bFINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS -- MONEY FOR NOTHING |b |b|bEven when a purpose for multimedia is crystal clear, corporations must still justify the cost. Asking how much multimedia costs is like asking how long a piece of string is: It depends on what is needed. Its not easy to find documented studies that provide feedback on multimedias return on investment, and, as a result, multimedia can be a hard sell in any corporation. The answers lie within each company. Do your homework, advises John Lipscomb, Holiday Inns technical research and development manager. Run numbers. Spending a little on multimedia can lead to vast savings in other expense categories. Look for a drop in travel, but dont overlook the savings from reusable material, ease of updates, and cost of production. Another way to evaluate cost is to look at economies of scale. Says David Sanders, manager of IBMs Ultimedia Western Area Multimedia Marketing Center in Sacramento, California, Calculate the cost of developing one workstation and extend it into the enterprise domain. You can usually diminish overall costs if you implement on a larger scale. Multimedia may even generate new revenues. You may be able to prove that many more customers would purchase a product if they were able to get information interactively in real time. What about the concern of managers to preserve existing investments in equipment? A specific application such as a kiosk may warrant the acquisition of new hardware, but whats to be done with a fleet of 386 clones that is still alive and kicking? When viewed objectively, PCs even in business are very fast-depreciating assets, says Satish Gupta, vice president of strategic marketing for Media Vision, a supplier of multimedia computing products based in Fremont, California. It is not because the value is lost; it is because the technology is advancing so fast. You can buy a 50 percent better machine in one year at the same price as the original. One must ask whether he is keeping the systems because they have value on the books or whether they have real value. Realistically, PCs that are less than two to three years old should be upgraded for multimedia, and anything older than that should be replaced. |bRESOURCE QUESTIONS --WHO, WHAT, WHEN, AND WHERE |b |b|bHardware investment is not the only lens through which the value of multimedia is viewed. Closely tied to financial issues is justifying the use of personnel and operations resources. Lack of in-house multimedia expertise may leave even the best ideas on the shelf. Multimedia represents a convergence of different disciplines such as videography, computer programming, visual and audio arts--a formidable challenge to manage first time out. To get started, identify a knowledgeable developer, suggests Tom Lopez, co-chairman of Mammoth Micro Productions, a multimedia tool and consulting company based in Seattle, Washington. The first time you do this you will learn so much about the issues and processes. Then you can decide if its worth it to invest in an in-house multimedia production capability. Some companies find that collaborating with outsiders helps them discover new diamonds in the glass in their existing corporate resources of people, materials, and equipment. Andersen Consulting, the management consulting unit of Arthur Andersen & Co., collaborated with both external and in-house resources to re-engineer training practices. Andersen developed the Business Practices Course to give consultant trainees a chance to learn, through self-paced interactive multimedia, such critical skills as user-needs analysis, research techniques, problem solving, and--upon completion of the course--how to make a live presentation to a fellow Andersen employee. According to Alan Nowakowski of Andersens Professional Education Division, the 40-hour course replaces approximately 65 hours of self-study and instructor-led training and has led to a savings of around $10 million a year. One of the key factors contributing to the projects success was collaboration. Andersen personnel worked closely with Northwestern Universitys Institute for the Learning Sciences to design a system that used new and existing training materials. The project was a combination of research and development, says Nowakowski, a test of different approaches and technologies, and very much a collaborative effort among analysts, programmers, instructional designers, artists, writers, and managers. Today the Business Practices Course is installed worldwide at 200 different Andersen Consulting locations, running on IBM 386/25 and 486/33 machines with a CD-ROM player, ActionMedia II board, headphones, DOS 5.0, and Windows 3.1. Three CDs contain the course, which was programmed in Authorware, Smalltalk, and C, and 180 minutes of supporting video. |bSTARTING OUT SMALL |b |b|bSome companies are willing and able to make such quantum leaps into the interactive media domain. However, most companies will introduce multimedia in smaller steps. A common reaction to multimedia is This is very pretty, but what can we do with it? states Albert Hill, vice president of Successful System Solutions, a PC software consulting company based in Rancho Cordova, California. Sometimes its better to start out with a small but very useful application, like including interactive video in a document or voice-over in a spreadsheet. That way, people get used to the benefits of the technology. To lay the groundwork for future cost justification, its important to build in measurable points such as frequency of usage or test results--no matter how small the application. Management grows weary of things they cant measure, says Hill. For day-to-day productivity, more applications such as presentation packages and word processors will have drop-in multimedia capabilities. Multimedia acceptance is occurring one byte at a time, paced by the availability of the pieces, says Gupta. Its an incremental, evolutionary process. The documentation process has already been through many phases of technological evolution. Documentation consumes resources (paper and money) and is often difficult to maintain and distribute. Targeting its vast documentation demands, the Ottawa-based telecommunications company Northern Telecom looked for a portable multimedia solution. Like most service companies, Northern Telecom strives to provide timely information to its customers. The reality of meeting this objective, however, can lead to costly paper overload. Depending on their telephone equipment, customers can receive up to 250 pounds of paper documentation. And the printed matter did nothing to adapt to the different learning styles of customer employees ranging from technical staff to receptionist to CEO. To address this challenge, Northern Telecom is installing a portable CD-ROM library of training resources that can be used anywhere: in a repair van, a switch room, or any place the customer needs them, according to Mike Sperlin, senior designer of media production at Northern Telecoms Richardson, Texas office. Weve taken our paper-based documentation and structured it in multimedia format with a powerful search engine. The first module, a user guide describing the companys voice-mail system, was released in June. Plans are to build the library at a rate of five modules a year. Browsers can get information either in text or visual formats, depending on their preferred learning style. Compared to paper versions, revisions and distribution of updates are simpler and cheaper. In addition, design time is minimized: while images stay the same, annotated voice-overs can be changed--even to different languages. One of the biggest factors in the projects success was Northern Telecoms corporate culture. Says Sperlin, Northern Telecom provides an environment where we are constantly encouraged to look at new solutions and not automatically do things the way we did them yesterday. |bBUILDING DIGITAL ASSETS |b |b|bFor those willing to look at new solutions, many tools and services are available to turn existing analog materials into a wealth of digital assets. Most corporations have arsenals of videotapes of everything from product demonstrations to talking heads of CEOs proclaiming the corporate mission. The challenge lies in integrating the pieces into multimedia applications. Once the assets are in place, they can be sent over networks throughout an enterprise or reused in other applications. They can be customized and selected at will to answer the precise needs of the user or developer. And, although technology may come and go, assets remain. An example of a tool that helps with this integration is Prism by MediaShare, a developer of multimedia business solutions based in Carlsbad, California. Prism enables companies to build databases of images that can be accessed at will, allowing a salesperson to select and link visual objects to build a presentation. AVENUE, from VIS of Waltham, Massachusetts, helps companies convert large libraries of videotape into PC-based, interactive multimedia, CD-ROM applications. Discovery PRO by Stenograph Legal Services of San Ramon, California helps lawyers streamline the preparation of different types of litigation documents by synchronizing a court reporters text with video to simplify retrieval and by allowing legal professionals to annotate documents such as legal transcripts with words, images, issue codes, or sounds. Companies everywhere are dealing with technological and economic change, and multimedia introduces new ways to communicate and cross-link to different sources of information. Facing two factors of change--an increasingly global economy and the need to reduce the time to market--Hewlett-Packard of Palo Alto, California realized multimedia improvements in training, sales, and work-group interaction, according to Randy Whiting, manager of Marketing Technology Center. The center features a PC-based CD-ROM library of multimedia elements that a sales representative can access from a workstation to build a custom presentation. The system was developed in-house using Asymetrix Toolbook on a 50-MHz HP Vectra 486 system running Windows 3.1. Users import multimedia pieces--such as video clips of a strategy piece, product overview material, or an audio clip explaining technical specifications--into a script that can be saved for the custom presentation. The power of multimedia is to provide different media in a form that is user-selectable, says Whiting. This allows salespeople and customers to focus on whats important to them. Digital technology allows sharing across a corporation, and the scope of possibilities widen with digital multimedia data, states Greg Bestick, president and CEO of MediaShare. When you have information in digital form, you can create relationships that did not exist before or were impossible or difficult to make with analog information. Once data is in digital form, I can create an infinite set of new applications. |bTHE SOUNDS OF CHANGE |b |b|bAs new multimedia elements such as sound and video appear more frequently in the workplace, the dynamics of the workgroup are bound to change. Used inappropriately, multimedia can be distracting or annoying, especially to those who are not interacting with it. But used appropriately, multimedia can introduce new avenues for work-group communication and collaboration. For example, sound can greatly benefit sight-impaired users. The trick is in knowing what is appropriate for a given application. One would not sing financial data, for example. But being able to hear the sound a drive shaft makes when a bearing is loose will speed understanding and diagnosis of a problem. At the core, this is a design issue, and there are mistakes to be made. Appropriate use of media can be learned, says Media Visions Gupta. Look at the variety of fonts and screen colors. People are smart enough, and good people quickly reach a level of adequate competency in design. They may not become brilliant, but they can become adequately good. Being the multi-sensory creatures that we are, human beings have and use different cognitive methods, explains Christine Perey of the American Multimedia Group, a multimedia consulting firm based in Sacramento, California. The vidkids who are learning how to solve problems by navigating the chaos of computer games today will be the work force of tomorrow. They are used to interacting with and learning from multiple media and will expect such interfaces in the future. The ability to see, hear, and most of all do reinforces a message. |bWANTED: DIGITAL CHAMPION |b |b|bEven with the convincing evidence of benefits, it is still often hard to sell the potential of multimedia within an organization. What is needed in these cases is a champion within the organization, a digital Prometheus who looks beyond the horizon of the current bottom line and sees potential in the new technology. Many ambitious and potentially profitable projects will twist in the wind if they dont have the support of at least one person who is influential in an organization. Viewing multimedia development in light of modern evolutionary theory, Ed Gillenwater, manager of media development and production for GTE VisNet (part of the GTE Telephone Operations World Headquarters in Irving, Texas), notes that innovative changes within a large organization, especially technological changes, are almost always incubated in small groups. If the prototype proves successful, it migrates back into the main organization where it is more widely accepted. The advantage of prototyping is that it tests the theory behind the project and helps people, especially those who make funding decisions, visualize the possibilities. |bEVERYDAY MULTIMEDIA |b |b|bMany companies are reevaluating how they go about doing what they do. The implementation of multimedia represents both a cultural and a technological evolution. In the future, multimedia may become an unspoken everyday familiarity, like touchtone phones, color TVs, and personal computers running GUIs. Todays arcane technical challenge is tomorrows mainstream way of life. Hyper-link to the future, five years from now: Compression technologies and increased network bandwidths will allow more data to travel faster and farther. Video will be as common on the desktop as it is in the home. You will be able to simultask by choosing to hear, see, or disregard your voice mail, even as you select the interactive module that lets you find and assemble video, audio, and graphics clips for your desktop video conference with a client in Japan. We have Chevys and Toyotas, the National League and American League, chocolate and vanilla, New York and Los Angeles, IBM and Apple, Video for Windows and QuickTime. There will always be choices, and multimedia is about addressing the need to make choices. In light of it all, its important to have a clear understanding of the business purpose and work flow process in order to ride the wave to shore without wiping out in an evolutionary ocean of choice and change. |bHANGING TEN ON THE WILD SURF OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE |b |b1.|b|m025|bKnow thy user|b--first and foremost. Its easy to get caught up in the |m025capabilities of the technology without thinking about who will actually |m025use it. Analyze needs. Talk to potential users. Test the application. |b2.|b|m025|bStart small|b, where the barriers to approval are lower. Try some |m025simple but useful application such as including video in a |m025presentation or voice annotation in a spreadsheet or text document. |m025Users will demand a technology that helps them be more |m025productive. |b3.|b|m025|bRe-use existing data|b--and maximize its worth. Incorporate images |m025from some corporate presentation into something else, such as a |m025tutorial to be sent over a network. A template used for training a local |m025group may just as well be used for training other groups on other |m025continents. |b4.|b|m025|bGet help.|b If you dont know how to do something, find someone who |m025does--and learn from their expertise. Organizations that can help |m025include the Interactive Multimedia Association (IMA, 9 Randall Ct., |m025Annapolis, MD 21401; 410-626-1380) or the International Interactive |m025Communications Society (IICS, P.O. Box 1862, Oswego, OR 97035; |m025503-649-2065). Develop a Request for Proposal and solicit bids from |m025different vendors. Learn from the people who have already learned |m025a lot themselves. |b5.|b|m025|bBe creative.|b Take a fresh look at how to do things. A presentation |m025doesnt have to be a linear slide show. A training module does not |m025have to feature only talking heads. Excerpts from a promotional |m025videotape or photographs can become objects in a visual |m025database. |b6.|b|m025|bProve the concept.|b Build a working model of a useful solution to a |m025problem so that you can help others visualize the possibilities. |b7.|b|m025|bDocument success.|b From the projects outset, build in ways to |m025measure and provide hard data for cost-benefit analyses. |m025Management will demand this. |b8.|b|m025|bKeep an open mind.|b Multimedia projects bring together different |m025minds and talents, and each can learn from the other. Promote the |m025project as a collaboration between the developers and the users, |m025and between the technology and content experts. |b9.|b|m025|bAnticipate impact.|b Plan for the unplanned. Expect the unexpected. |m025Realize that multimedia technology is only a piece of the puzzle, and |m025that anything can change everything. A micro tweak can have macro |m025effects on economic, sociological, and even psychological |m025dynamics. |b10.|b|m025|bDownload wisdom.|b Be your own mentor. Remember the words of |m025digital visionary Alan Kay: The best way to predict the future is to |m025invent it. Chris Okon is a San Francisco-based freelance writer who specializes in database and multimedia issues. She is co-author of the book Demystifying Multimedia, published by Apple Computer Inc. " \ " % j ▒ ⌠ 8y╝ & |bLET YOUR MOUSE DO THE WALKING |b |b|bProCDs ProPhone Business + one CD-ROM sets a new low price point for CD-ROM-based business phone directories, with a list price of $49. The disc contains the name, address, phone number, and approximate number of employees for over 7 million US businesses. The database allows users to search and select businesses based on geography, area code, or other information, and export the results into other applications. ProCD will issue semi-annual updates to keep the listings current. |bProCD |b|b617-631-9200 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue / ] ì ╦ ]¬ α⌡ |bGET A GRASP |b|b Paul Mace Software is releasing a new multimedia version of its popular Grasp animation and authoring software package. Multimedia Grasp (Graphic Animation System for Professionals) includes a toolbox of multimedia authoring utilities, including the Grasp engine, a paint program, and multimedia file conversion tools. It also features a fast prototyping tool, font editor, and a library of code modules for C programmers. Multimedia Grasp lists for $1,195. |bPaul Mace Software |b|b503-488-2322 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue I d ñ Σ ,j░ ⌡ |bRENDER EXTENDER |b |b|bIf waiting hours for your 3D graphics to render is growing old, software developer Realism 3D may be able to help. Its new Render Rocket package promises dramatic decreases in rendering time, and easy modification of rendering parameters like surface texture, lighting and shading. The Windows-based program works with .DXF files. The walkthrough feature allows for real-time interaction with a wireframe approximation of the final rendering. Render Rocket lists for $995. |bRealism 3D |b|b805-484-4366 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue & ε e ¿ ╦ Wóµ.u íº ╕ |bISOLATED INTERACTIVITY |b |b|bFor almost two years, eight people and 4,000 species of plants and animals have been sealed in the Biosphere 2 development. Thanks to IBM, you can join them--virtually. IBMs Multimedia Publishing Studio has teamed with Space Biospheres Ventures to produce a CD-ROM that will recreate the experience of living in an ecological research station. The disc is due for release at the same time the Biospheres inhabitants are: September 1993. In addition to letting users explore the inside of the Biosphere, the CD-ROM will also present an examination of the projects basic research results, and the technology and systems used in the program. |bIBM |b|b800-995-9999 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue ╞
K Å ╙ \ É WordStar International, manufacturer of the industry-pioneering WordStar word processor, has entered the interactive content market with the launch of its StarPress multimedia division. The first products are electronic versions of the American Heritage Dictionary, Third Edition, in $59 and $129 floppy-based standard and deluxe configurations. |bWordStar International/StarPress |b|b800-523-3520 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue ┐
B ç ╠ \x ë Discis Knowledge Research has announced the availability of its previously Mac-only educational titles for Windows systems. The Kids Can Read series now comes on multiformat CDs, which will play on DOS and Windows PCs as well as the Macintosh. Discis also announced a price reduction on the Kids Can Read titles, from a list price of $49 to $39. |bDiscis Knowledge Research |b|b416-250-6537 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue . e ⌐ ┐ LÆ ─τ ° |bPASS THE TURKEY PLEASE |b|b Travel back in time to the days of the Pilgrims and see how well you would have fared in PilgrimQuest, a $99 CD-ROM simulation game from Decision Development. 30 minutes of motion video make this DOS-based historical adventure exciting for its intended audience of younger students, who confront the same survival decisions the Pilgrims faced in the 1600s. The disc was co-produced with the National Geographic Society. |bDecision Development Corporation |b|b800-835-4332 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue " ¢ W ó σ +s╕ 7T e ENCYCLOPEDI-SAURUS Dinosaurs are everywhere this summer, including in your computer. Joining Microsoft with its reptilian title and Computer Support Corp. with its Jurassic Art, Sony Electronic Publishing has teamed with Media Design Interactive to produce Dinosaurs! The Multimedia Encyclopedia. The $79 CD-ROM traces the evolution of the dinosaurs, their extinction, animal relatives, and fossils. Noted paleontology expert Dr. Angeles Milner narrates the title. There are over 200 photos and illustrations on the disc, and one-and-a-half hours of digital video. |bSony Electronic Publishing |b|b212-418-9439 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue ( ╟ g ¿ φ /y å╦X dÇ æ |bTHE OLD MAN AND THE CD |b|b While you wouldnt take it with you into knee-deep waters, a new CD-ROM can prepare you for your first (or next) fly fishing expedition. The $49 Learning Fly Fishing was adapted from well-known angler Gean Snows Encyclopedia of Fishing Tips. Snows original two-hour video translated well into an interactive version, says publisher EE Multimedia Productions. The CD-ROM includes information on the seven most popular species of fish caught on flyrods, instruction on all the knots an angler needs to know, and a glossary of fishing terms. An hour of digital video runs through it. |bEE Multimedia Productions |b|b303-526-7600 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue 1 ^ ª Ω ,y╝ ╩Ω √ |bRECORD HOLDER |b|b Now you can settle your party bets faster with the 1993 edition of the Guinness Multimedia Disc of Records from Grolier Electronic Publishing. This $99 CD-ROM contains over 3,600 world records with support from 600 pictures and numerous motion video segments, voice-overs, and sound effects. The original book itself is almost a record breaker: its sold more copies than any book except the Bible, according to a Grolier spokesperson. |bGrolier Electronic Publishing |b|b203-797-3500 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue 2 █ a ù ┌ c à═Y£π K éö Ñ |bALL DECKED OUT |b|b Books That Work is offering some hope for the all-thumbs crowd, with the first release in its line of home improvement titles. Design & Build Your Deck takes you through the process of adding a deck to your house, from planning and designing to pounding that last nail and applying sealant. The $79 Windows CD-ROM was developed in conjunction with Sunset magazine. Design & Build Your Deck includes its own design workshop utility. With its point and click interface, you can define the shape of your deck and manipulate its dimensions. The software automatically computes the necessary architectural work and produces precise layouts. The two sections, Before You Build and Building Step By Step, provide detailed planning and building instructions. The CD features 80 illustrations and photos, including a gallery of full-color deck designs, and 40 animations with sound. |bBooks That Work |b|b800-242-4546 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue ( ╠ _ ª ║ ∙ @å╙ O yà û |bTHE MPEG STRIKES BACK |b|b Previously available only in arcades, the animated fantasy game Dragons Lair is making its way to the MPC as one of the first games to support MPEG video. When used with an MPEG board, Dragons Lair will play back true full-motion, full-screen video in real time as you play in the fantasy adventure of Dirk the Daring. The game and board (which will sell for less than $400) will be released in the fall. Without the board, players can still enjoy the game, albeit at smaller screen sizes. Epicenter Interactive, the developer of this version of Dragons Lair, promises other MPEG titles in the future. |bReadySoft |b|b416-731-4175 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue * µ [ ú ┐ P d¬∞/u ôƒ ░ |bMITCH GOES MIDI |b|b A new Windows karaoke program uses MIDI music files instead of CD audio tracks, letting you change the speed, pitch, instrumentation, and key of your favorite songs. Tune 1000s Soft Karaoke is available now for $49. Because it uses MIDI, the overall sound quality is dependent on the quality of the synthesizer on your sound card. You can select different instruments for each musical part of a song, using any of the 128 General MIDI instrument patches supported on MPC-compatible sound cards. With speed and pitch controls, you can adjust any song to match your vocal ability. Tune 1000 will regularly release additional song sets. |bTune 1000 |b|b418-877-8900 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue 0 W d Ñ ½ τ - l▒≤<Ç╠ ß ! |bDUNE NOT PASS GO |b |b|bVirgin Games DOS adaptation of Frank Herberts cult science fiction epic Dune has come to CD-ROM, with footage taken from the David Lynch film. The CD-ROM version features realistic texture-mapped flying sequences that heighten the realism as you cruise over the deserts of Arrakis. Synchronized dialog adds to the interactive illusion. Virgin is also bringing a classic game to CD-ROM: Monopoly. If youve tired of the original board game, Virgin promises this Windows CD version will be twice the fun, with newly revamped levels of difficulty. Youll be able to play by the traditional rules or make up your own. Animated versions of the original game pieces will add further life to this stalwart board game. Both CD-ROMs will sell for $49. |bVirgin Games |b|b714-833-8710 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue " å _ ½ ≤ 8| ┴ .? P |bNATURAL MULTIMEDIA |b|b Fractal Design has significantly enhanced the power of its popular Painter 2.0 natural media paint and imaging software, with the introduction of the Windows version of the Painter/X2 extension. The $149 extension speeds up image manipulation by allowing users to work with selected areas of a bit-mapped image as if they were separate objects, which allows for easy editing, overlaying, and the application of effects. According to Fractal Design, beta testers reported an 800 percent productivity increase by using Painter/X2. |bFractal Design |b|b408-688-5300 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue 2 b ó δ *k▓ <é╩ e ¿╛ ╧ |bIAMBIC PAINT-ANIMATOR |b|b Graphics and video software developer Azeena Technologies has just released Animation Paint Box, a $299 Windows-based package that integrates the functions found in animation and paint software programs. The package supports standard drawing features including line, rectangle, polygon, and ellipse tools, and supports customizable airbrush and pen tools. Users can employ Animation Paint Box to create or edit images with blend, mosaic, stencil, fill, and other imaging effects. The 2D animation software supports popular animation methods including onion-skin views and key-framing. Images can be captured as brushes, which the user can then rotate, stretch, or wrap on objects. A simulated 3D effect can be created using rotated brushes and the keyframe technique. Animation Paint Box also can work with digital video files--users can import .AVI clips into the package, and overlay animation effects. |bAzeena Technologies |b|b310-988-1889 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue D ^! K û ╬ Zù┌a¼≡3p é├LÅ═ &j½∩ ( Creative Labs has released a new 16-bit sound board at its lowest 16-bit price to date. The Sound Blaster 16 lists for only $279. Voice recognition joins the panoply of capabilities featured on the card. The newest addition to the Sound Blaster family features 16-bit quality stereo sound sampling and playback, with auto-dynamic filtering for noise reduction. According to Creative Labs, the 90dB 16-bit compression/decompression chip (codec) is the same as that used in many professional DAT machines. The Sound Blaster 16 sports an improved 10-channel stereo digital mixer with 32 discrete volume steps, tone control, input/output gain control, and a recording input mixer. Like the $349 Sound Blaster 16 ASP, the new board can host Creative Labs $249 Wave Blaster daughterboard for added wave-table synthesis. An DSP-based daughterboard for added digital processing is also available at $99. The new VoiceAssist software, which will now come with the Sound Blaster 16 ASP as well, brings voice recognition to any Windows application. VoiceAssist supports individual 1,024-word vocabularies for as many as 30 applications. The speaker-independent software comes pre-trained on 32 basic Windows commands for generic male and female voices. Users can train the utility in any Windows application of their choosing. Creative also announced the acquisition of ShareVision, a vendor of Macintosh-based desktop videoconferencing systems. Creative Labs will bring the ShareVision technology to the PC platform for future desktop video products. |bCreative Labs |b|b408-428-6600 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue " h X ₧ ▄ &q┤≥ ! 2 |bSSSSSH! |b |b|bATI Technologies recently enhanced its Stereo F/X-CD sound card with noise reduction circuitry, and combined it with a multisession CD-ROM drive in the $499 CD Sound Dimensions multimedia upgrade kit. The Stereo F/X-CD audio adapter has a built-in 8-watt amplifier with bass boost circuitry. According to ATI, its Quiet CD technology filters out the CD drive motor noise that is picked up and amplified by many sound cards. The upgrade kit includes a front-loading Mitsumi Photo CD-compatible CD-ROM drive. |bATI Technologies |b|b416-756-0718 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue ^ g . J Ä ╙ Sö╙]ñΩ (lúσ, Jô╫ Uù╓ eºΩ,q ªΩ [£▐ * - After four months of deliberations among its members, the Multimedia PC Marketing Council has released a Level 2 specification for the next generation of multimedia PC hardware. Just as significantly, vendors licensing the MPC and MPC2 logos will now be subject to a certification procedure to ensure compliance with the specifications. Previously, the MPC trademark indicated only that the vendor had promised that its hardware met the specification. Now hardware manufacturers will have to administer a suite of tests provided by the Council, and return the results to the Council for approval before receiving permission to add the MPC or MPC2 symbols to their products. Software publishers who have paid the MPC licensing fee can choose to indicate if their application requires Level 1 or 2 hardware. The Level 2 specification incorporates a number of new technologies that are already common among MPC users--16-bit sound, high-resolution displays, and double-speed CD-ROM drives--and ups the minimum system requirements. The Level 1 specification is still in force, and remains unchanged. The original Level 1 specification for MPC had called for a minimum of a 286 CPU, which was changed to a 386SX processor almost immediately. Level 2 specifies a minimum system configuration of a 25MHz 486SX with a minimum 4MB of RAM and a 160MB or larger hard drive. To conform to MPC2, a multimedia PC or upgrade kit must include a double-speed CD-ROM drive (capable of a sustained 300KB/second data transfer rate), with an access time of 400 milliseconds or less. The CD-ROM drive must use no more than 60 per cent of the CPUs resources during a 300KB/sec read, and no more than 40 percent at 150KB/sec throughput. A 64KB on-board memory buffer and read-ahead buffering are recommended but not mandated. To be compliant, drives must be able to read multisession discs and Photo CDs, and be upgradeable to read CD-ROM XA (Extended Architecture) format discs. The MPC2 video standard has been raised from Level 1s 256 colors to 65,536 colors, at 640 x 480 pixel resolution. The sound specification has increased to a minimum sound recording and playback resolution of 16 bits. MPC Level 2 has already been endorsed by one erstwhile MPC absentee: IBM has agreed to license the new certification on its MVP systems. |bMultimedia PC Marketing Council |b |b|b From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue , ó e ¼ ╞ Qû█ d¼⌡1 U[ l |bBIG BLUE SEES LEVEL 2 |b |b|bIBM has added a new line of multimedia PCs to its Ultimedia product family, marking the companys continued support for multimedia across a broad range of platforms. The Multimedia Value Point (MVP) machines conform to the MPC Level 2 specification. The MVPs come with three different bundles of software packages: Entertainment (including game, reference, and productivity titles); Reference (comes with Microsoft Works, Microsoft Bookshelf, Software Toolworks Encyclopedia, and HSC Interactive), and Office, which has the multimedia systems software but no multimedia titles or applications. All configurations feature a double-speed CD-ROM drive, a 24-bit high-resolution display, and Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 audio card. The Entertainment and Reference packages also include speakers. Pricing starts at $2,099. |bIBM |b|b800-426-9402 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue * 5 c ¬ τ ` é├Aâ╗ ┘ε |bLEVEL 2 PLAYING FIELD |b|b Megamedia Computer has added to its multimedia line with a low-cost upgrade kit and MPC that conform to the MPC Level 2 specification. The $599 Mega Multimedia Upgrade Kit includes a Media Vision Pro AudioSpectrum 16 sound card and a double-speed Toshiba 3401-series CD-ROM drive. The Toshiba drive claims a 200ms access time and supports Photo CD discs. The $3,845 Mega M46D2LM 486 MPC from Megamedia is built around a 66MHz 486DX2 CPU with local bus video and comes standard with 8MB of RAM, 256K cache memory, and a 240MB hard drive. The Mega M46D2LM also uses the Pro AudioSpectrum 16 sound card and Toshiba 3401 CD-ROM drive. A Super VGA monitor, headphones, and microphone are also included. |bMegamedia Computer |b|b408-428-9920 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue ( F ï Æ ╒ Y¢ ▓√@ç ╝╓ τ PC manufacturer Austin Computer Systems is launching its MediaMagic multimedia line with two digital signal processor-based 16-bit sound cards. The $159 DSP-16 sound system is compatible with Microsofts Windows Sound System and Creative Labs Sound Blaster standards, and features a proprietary Sony CD-ROM drive interface. An 8-watt amplifier is optional. The $249 DSP-16 Plus adds wave-table synthesis and a SCSI CD-ROM interface. Austin will release 32-bit DSP-based sound products later this year, and a credit-card sized PCMCIA sound adapter for notebook computers. The planned $299 DSP-32 sound card will also feature options such as voice mail, voice recognition, and fax modem capabilities. |bAustin Computer Systems |b|b512-339-3500 From Multimedia World, August 1993 Issue
