Stay Tuned To Multimedia Software
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Sound, graphics, animation and video. These are the things we experience when we turn on a television set. We are educated and entertained by the movies, documentaries, cartoons and other programs we see on TV. Sometimes we become glued to our television screens during particularly interesting programs. But more of us may find ourselves becoming glued to our computer screens instead because now we can run programs that have not only sound and graphics, but animation and video as well. Software programs with these four components are called multimedia software programs. Brian Mitchell, manager of new products at Egghead Discount Software Inc., says multimedia software is a combination of technologies that have been around for a while, such as animated graphics and motion video graphics. Those technologies are combined with sound. This includes both waveform sound (recorded sound) and sound created in the compact disc audio format, or digital sound. A compact disc is a polished metal disc that stores digital information and is read by an optical scanning device, such as a laser. Data, or sound, is stored on the disc using binary numbers--0s and 1s. Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) is combined into multimedia software packages as well. MIDI allows music synthesizers and musical instruments to be connected to computers. (For more information about MIDI, see "MIDI: The Standard That Makes Music" in this issue of PC Novice.) These components of multimedia software help to bring out the best in the content of the software packages. There are three broad categories that most multimedia software programs fit into: education, entertainment and reference.
Sound, graphics, animation and video. These are the things we experience when we turn on a television set. We are educated and entertained by the movies, documentaries, cartoons and other programs we see on TV. Sometimes we become glued to our television screens during particularly interesting programs. But more of us may find ourselves becoming glued to our computer screens instead because now we can run programs that have not only sound and graphics, but animation and video as well. Software programs with these four components are called multimedia software programs. Brian Mitchell, manager of new products at Egghead Discount Software Inc., says multimedia software is a combination of technologies that have been around for a while, such as animated graphics and motion video graphics. Those technologies are combined with sound. This includes both waveform sound (recorded sound) and sound created in the compact disc audio format, or digital sound. A compact disc is a polished metal disc that stores digital information and is read by an optical scanning device, such as a laser. Data, or sound, is stored on the disc using binary numbers--0s and 1s. Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) is combined into multimedia software packages as well. MIDI allows music synthesizers and musical instruments to be connected to computers. (For more information about MIDI, see "MIDI: The Standard That Makes Music" in this issue of PC Novice.) These components of multimedia software help to bring out the best in the content of the software packages. There are three broad categories that most multimedia software programs fit into: education, entertainment and reference.