Multimedia applications

Multimedia has become a huge force in culture, industry and education. Practically any type of information we receive can be categorized as multimedia, from television, to magazines, to web pages, to movies, multimedia is a tremendous force in both informing the public and entertaining us.

Advertising is perhaps one of the biggest industry's that use multimedia to send their message to the masses. Where one type of media, let's say radio or text can be a great way to promote an item, using multimedia techniques can significantly make an item being advertised better received by the masses and in many cases with greater results.

Multimedia in Education has been extremely effective in teaching individuals a wide range of subjects. The human brain learns using many senses such as sight and hearing. While a lecture can be extremely informative, a lecture that integrates pictures or video images can help an individual learn and retain information much more effectively. Using interactive CD ROM's can be extremely effective in teaching students a wide variety of disciplines, most notably foreign language and music.

Software engineers use multimedia in applications such as computer simulations for industrial/military training or even entertainment.

In public places (e.g. museums and stations), there are information kiosks that use multimedia. Kiosk systems are being used in a variety of applications, including information directories, customer self-service terminals, electronic catalogs, internet access terminals, tourism guides, and more.

Several software packages can be used in kiosk environment, including a presentation development package and an on-screen keyboard package.

On the Web, audio and video are integrated into web pages. For example, RealPlayer supports streaming, which lets you play sound (e.g. from radio stations) and videofiles as a continuous stream while they are downloading.

In virtual reality, users interact with a simulated world: doctors train using virtual surgery; pilots use flight simulators to do their training; people visit virtual exhibitions, etc.

You can play games on a computer or video game on a dedicated machine, called a video
console, which you connect to a TV set. You can also play games on the Net; some websites
have a multiplayer facility that enables lots of people to play the same game at the same time.

As technology progresses, so will multimedia. Today, there are plenty of new media technologies being used to create the complete multimedia experience. For instance, virtual reality integrates the sense of touch with video and audio media to immerse an individual into a virtual world. Other media technologies being developed include the sense of smell that can be transmitted via the Internet from one individual to another. Today's video games include bio feedback. In this instance, a shock or vibration is given to the game player when he or she crashes or gets killed in the game. In addition as computers increase their power new ways of integrating media will make the multimedia experience extremely intricate and exciting.