WHERE TO USE MULTIMEDIA
Multimedia is appropriate whenever a human interface connects a human user to electronic information of any kind．Multimedia enhances traditional text-only computer interfaces and yields measurable benefit by gaining and holding attention and interest；multimedia improves information retention．When properly woven，multimedia can also be profoundly entertaining．
1．Multimedia in Business
Business applications for multimedia include presentations，training，marketing，advertising，product demos，databases，catalogues，and.networked communications．Voice mail and video conferencing will soon be provided on many local and wide area networks（LANs and WANs）．
After a morning of mind-numbing 35 mm slide and overhead presentations delivered from the podium of a national sales conference，a multimedia presentation can make an audience come alive．Most presentation software packages let you add audio and video clips to the usual“slide show”of graphics and text material[1]．
Multimedia is enjoying widespread use in training programs．Flight attendants learn to manage international terrorism and security through simulation．Mechanics learn to repair engines．Salespeople learn about product lines and leave behind software to train their customers．Fighter pilots practice full-terrain sorties before spooling up for the real thing．
As companies and businesses catch on to the power of multimedia，and the cost of installing multimedia capability decreases，more applications will be developed both by themselves and by third parties to allow businesses to run more smoothly and efficiently．
2． Multimedia in Schools
Schools are perhaps the most needy destination for multimedia．Many schools in the United States today are chronically underfunded and occasionally slow to adopt new technologies，but it is here that the power of multimedia can be maximized for the greatest long-term benefit to all．
In March 1995，the White House challenged the telecommunications industry to connect every classroom，library，clinic，and hospital to the information superhighway by the year 2000．The White House has also taken steps to provide governmental support with a program of “Challenge-Grants for Technology in Education”，a ＄27-million effort to support state-of-the-art technology in about 20-low-income rural and urban school districts．Vice-President A1 Gore is often seen pulling wire in inner-city school labs，promoting installation of computers in schools[2]．
Multimedia will provoke radical changes in the teaching process during the coming decades，particularly as smart students discover they can go beyond the limits of traditional teaching methods．Indeed，in some instances，teachers may become more like guides and mentors along a learning path，not the primary providers of information and understanding—the students，not teachers，become the core of the teaching and learning process．This is a sensitive and highly politicized suhject among educators，so educational software is often positioned as“enriching”the learning process，not as a potential substitute for traditional teacher-based methods．
3．Multimedia at Home
From gardening to cooking to home design，remodeling，and repair to genealogy software，multimedia has entered the home．Eventually，most multimedia projects will reach the home via television sets or monitors with built-in interactive user inputs．The multimedia viewed on these sets will likely arrive on a pay-for-use basis along the data highway[3]．
4．Multimedia in Public Places
In hotels，train stations，shopping malls，museums，and grocery stores，multimedia will become available at stand-alone terminals or kiosks to provide information and help．Such installations reduce demand on traditional information booths and personnel，and they can work around the clock，even in the middle of the night，when live help is off duty[4]．
5．Virtual Reality
At the convergence of technology and creative invention in multimedia is virtual reality，or VR．Goggles，helmets，special gloves，and bizarre human interfaces attempt to place you“inside”a lifelike experience．Take a step forward，and the view gets closer，turn your head，and the view rotates．Reach out and grab an object；your hand moves in front of you．Maybe the object explodes in a 90-decibel crescendo as you wrap your fingers around it．Or it slips out from your grip，falls to the floor，and hurriedly escapes through a mouse hole at the bottom of the wall．
On the World Wide Web，standards for transmitting virtual reality worlds or“scenes”in VRML（virtual reality modeling language）documents（with the file name extension ．wrl）have been developed．
Using high-speed dedicated computers，multi-million-dollar flight simulators built by Singer，RediFusion，and others have led the way in commercial application of VR．Pilots of F-16s，Boeing 777s，and Rockwell space shuttles have made many dry runs before doing the real thing[5]．At the California Maritime Academy and other merchant marine officer training schools，computer-controlled simulators teach the intricate loading and unloading of oil tankers and container ships．
NOTES
[1] slide show指幻灯播放。
[2] pull wire在这里指网络布线。
[3] pay-for-use指付费点播。
[4] around the clock意思是昼夜，一天24小时。
[5] dry run表示“演习、排练”。
KEYWORDS
information retention 信息保持力
genealogy 系谱，宗谱
convergence 汇聚，收敛
VRML（virtual reality modeling language） 虚拟现实造型语言
翻译：
多媒体的用途
无论何时多媒体都适合于将一个用户连接到人机界面上，以提供电子信息。多媒体增强了传统上只有文本的计算机界面，并通过对注意力和兴趣的获得与保持而产生相当大的优势；多媒体提高了信息的保持力。只要编排得当，多媒体也可以制作得深受欢迎。
1．多媒体的商业应用
多媒体的商业应用包括演示、培训、市场、广告、产品演示、数据库、产品目录以及网络通信。在很多局域和广域网上很快将提供语音邮件和视频会议。
在全国性销售大会上经历了一上午来自讲台的令人头昏脑胀的35mm幻灯和大量的陈述之后，一个多媒体的演示报告能令听众活跃起来。大部分演示软件包可在图像和文字材料的普通“幻灯播放”中加入音频和视频剪辑。
多媒体被广泛地应用于各种培训计划中。航班服务人员通过模拟学习如何对付国际恐怖分子和处理安全问题；机械师学习如何修理发动机；销传人员介绍产品系列并用软件来培训客户。战斗机飞行员在真实事件发生之前学习全天候出击。
由于公司和商业机构掌握了多媒体的功能，并且由于多媒体设施成本的降低，更多的能使企业更平稳更有效地运作的多媒体应用将由企业自己或第三方开发出来。
2．多媒体在学校中的应用
学校也许是最需要多媒体的地方。今天，在美国有许多学校长期资金短缺，且有点采纳新技术缓慢。但正是在这里，多媒体的能力可以得到充分的发挥，并使其长期受益。
1995年3月，白官要求电信业必须在2000年时将所有的教室、实验室、诊所及医院全部连接到信息高速公路上。白官还逐步为“教育技术基全“项日提供政府支持，一项耗资2700万美元的投资专门用于为20个低收入乡村和城市学区提供最先进技术。美国前副总统戈尔经常视察市内学校实验室的联网情况，并敦促学校安装计算机。
多媒体在未来的几十年将彻底改变教育模式，特别是对于那些优秀的学生，他们会发现自己可以远远超出传统教育的束缚。的确在某些情况下，老师在教学过程中更像向导或顾问，而不是基本的信息和理解提供者。教学过程的核心不再是教师，而是学生。在教育家眼中，这是一个敏感和高度政治化的课题，因此，目前教育软件通常只是“丰富”教学过程，而不是潜在地取代传统的以教师为基础的模式。
3．多媒体在家庭中的应用
从园艺、烹饪到室内设计、改造和修理，直到家谱软件，多媒体已经进人家庭。最终，大多数多媒体项目将通过电视机或具有内置交互用户输入的监视器而走入家庭。在这些装置上看多媒体很可能采取在数据高速公路上付费点播的方式。
4．多媒体在公共场所中的应用
在宾馆、火车站、购物中心、博物馆和杂货店，多媒体将在终端机或服务亭里为人们提供信息和帮助。这些设施将减少对传统信息服务亭和工作人员的需求，并且能全天候，甚至在工作人员下班之后的午夜继续工作。
5．虚拟现实
虚拟现实（VR）是多媒体技术和创造性发明的集中体现。眼镜、头盔、特殊手套和奇特的人机接口可将你带入一个逼真的世界。往前挪一步，景象则变得近一些；转动头，景象则跟着转动；伸手去抓一个物体，手就在面前移动。当你用手指紧抓物体时，也许它会发出90分贝的爆裂声，或从你手中滑落掉在地板上，并很快钻入墙脚的老鼠洞中。
在万维网上，用VRML（虚拟现实建模语言）文件（用．wrl为文件后缀）来传输虚拟现实世界或“场景”的标准已建立起来。
通过使用高速专用计算机，Singer、RediFusing和其他厂家建造的数百万美元的飞行模拟器已使VR进入商业应用。F-16、波音777和Rockwell的航天飞机的驾驶员已能在正式飞行之前进行多次模拟飞行。在加利福尼亚海事学院和其他商业海运培训学校，计算机控制的模拟设备用于复杂的油轮和集装箱货船装卸教学。
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