What’s Multimedia？
什么是多媒体？
The answer is neither simple nor easy.Multimedia is the combination of computer and video technology.Multimedia really just two media sound and pictures，or in today’s term，audio and video.Multimedia itself has its binary aspects.As with all modern technologies，it is made from a mix of hardware and software，machine and ideas.More importantly，you can conceptually divide technology and function of multimedia into control systems and information.
要回答这个问题不那么容易。多媒体是计算机和视频技术的结合，实际上它是两个媒体：声音和图像，或者用现在的术语：音响和电视。多媒体本身有两个方面，和所有现代技术一样它是由硬件和软件，或机器和思想混合组成。可以将多媒体技术和功能在概念上区分为控制系统和信息。
The enabling force behind multimedia is digital technology.Multimedia represents the convergence of digital control and digital media—the PC as the digital control system and the digital media being today’s most advanced form of audio and video storage and transmission.In fact，some people see multimedia simply as the marriage of PCs and video.PC power has reached a level close to that needed for procession television and sound data streams in real time，multimedia was born.多媒体之所以能够实现是依靠数字技术。多媒体代表数字控制和数字媒体的汇合，电脑是数字控制系统，而数字媒体是当今音频和视频最先进的存储和传播形式。事实上有人就简单地认为多媒体是电脑和电视的结合。电脑的能力达到实时处理电视和声音数据流的水平，这时多媒体就诞生了。Multimedia PC needs to be more powerful than mainstream computer—at least the multimedia PC defines the mainstream.多媒体电脑需要具有比主流电脑更强的能力，多媒体电脑决定了主流电脑的发展。Among contemporary PCs，about the only things that separate an ordinary computer from multimedia are a soundboard and a CD-ROM driver.The CD serves as multimedia’s chief storage and exchange medium.Without the convenient CD，the PC industry would lack a means of distributing the hundreds of megabytes of audio，visual，and textual data that make up today’s multimedia titles.Without CD，you couldn’t buy multimedia because publishers have no way of getting it to you.
区别普通电脑和多媒体电脑的主要东西是声卡和只读光盘驱动器。光盘是多媒体的主要存储和交换媒体。没有这种方便的光盘，电脑工业就无法销售构成多媒体节目的几百兆字节的音频、可视的和文字的数据，你也无法买到多媒体。
So what is multimedia？By now you should agree that multimedia isn’t any one thing but a complex entity that involves the many things：hardware，software，and the interface where they meet.But we’ve forgotten the most important thing that multimedia involves：you.Yeah，sure.With multimedia，you don’t have to be a passive recipient.You can control.You can interact.You can make it do what you want it to do.It means you can tailor a multimedia presentation to your own needs.现在可以回答什么是多媒体。它不只是一件东西，而是包括许多东西的复杂的组合：硬件、软件和这两者相遇时的界面。不，我们还忘了一件最重要的事情：多媒体还包括你。咳，就是！对于多媒体，你不再是一个被动的观众，你可以控制，可以交互作用，可以让它按你的需要去做。You can cut through the chaff and dig directly into the important data in a report，pull together reports and video clips from around the world that interest you.That’s the strength of multimedia and what distinguishes it from traditional media like books and television.
在一个报告中，你可以不管那些无用的东西而直接进入重要的数据，可以将感兴趣的全世界的报告和图片收集汇编到一起。这就是多媒体的力量和它与传统媒体（如书本和电视）的区别所在。
What does multimedia do？It presents information，shares ideas and elicits emotions.It enables you to see，hear，and understand the thoughts of others.In other words，it is a form of communication.
多媒体能做什么？它展示信息、交流思想和抒发情感。它让你看到、听到和理解其他人的思想。也就是说，它是一种通讯的方式。
Multimedia Technology
多媒体技术
The Emergence of Multimedia
多媒体的出现
Trends in information technology （a user perspective）
信息技术发展趋势（用户观点）
To understand the motivation behind multimedia computing，it is important to consider information technology from the point of view of the end user （as opposed to the technologist）.To an end user，information technology is concerned with access to various forms of information and the ability to cooperate through these forms of information.Any actual technology which helps in this task is merely a means to an end.
要了解多媒体计算背后的动因，有必要从最终用户（相对于技术人员）角度考察一下信息技术。对于最终用户来讲，信息技术关心的是能访问各种形式的信息并能通过这些各种形式的信息进行协作（共同完成任务）。任何一种有益于完成这一任务的实际技术在最终用户看来只不过是一种工具而已。
From this perspective，it is possible to identify two separate aspects of information technology，namely the forms of media available to an end user and the ability to efficiently communicate using these media forms.In both these areas，the modern user of information is coming under increased pressure.These pressures are discussed in more details below.
从这一角度来看，我们有可能把信息技术从两个不同的方面表达：即最终用户可用的媒体形式和进行有效通信的能力。现代信息用户在这两方面都面临着越来越大的压力。这些压力将在下面更为详细地讨论。
Forms of media
媒体形式
In recent years，there has been a dramatic increase in the range of media used to convey information.Initially，communication was limited to simple forms of media such as voice and paper.This century，however，has witnessed the introduction of a greater variety of media types such as the telephone and visual forms of media.In the latter part of the century，this trend has accelerated and there is now a wide range of media types available to convey information.
这些年来，用于传输信息的媒体范围增加了许多。早先，通信仅限于简单形式的媒体如声音和纸张。但在本世纪，引入了大量的不同的媒体类型，如电话和可视媒体。本世纪末，这种趋势在加剧。目前，可用于传输信息的媒体类型范围很广。
These advances provide a great opportunity for new developments in a range of areas such as education and commerce.However，there are also a number of problems associated with the growth of information in society.In particular，there is a great danger of creating information overload.This problem can be seen，for example，in business where executives are required to make decisions based on an ever increasing variety and volume of information.
这方面的进展为诸如教育和商业这样的领域提供了许多新的发展机会。但是，同时也存在着与社会信息激增有关的一系列问题。尤其是存在着很大的产生信息过量的危险。这个问题在商务活动中能够见到：例如，行政决策者们必须根据不断增加的大量的各种各样的信息做出决策。
Similar problems are also occurring in areas such as government，health care and education.
类似的问题同样也出现在像政府、医疗和教育部门。
Problems of communication
通信问题