Definitions vary but the term has come to represent fully integrated
components which include sound and/or music, full motion video, interactions
with the user, non-linear navigation and more. A light hearted definition is
any media that have more than three plugs into an electrical source. Multimedia
is important not for what information it presents, but how it presents
it. Text as a single medium provides most of the information we need from the
Web. Media other than text and images can currently be accessed off the Web
only with links that, when clicked display the media object by itself. Multimedia
on the Web does not provide us with new information, but the integration of
multiple media components into a united and adapted presentation that can greatly
enhance our perception of this information. Multimedia can certainly make the
display of media data more captivating and engaging.
