Fourteen ways for adults to learn with multimedia. (Compute's Getting Started with Multimedia)
by Heidi E.H. Aycock

You can imagine how multimedia will improve software for children. Think a little harder and you can see how adults could learn more from their multimedia systems, too. Reference resources, in particular, will start popping up from vendors like inflatable toys in your backyard pool The increased storage offered by a CD-ROM and the improved sound and graphics open up enormous educational possibilities.

New references will exploit the sound capabilities of Windows with Multimedia. Atlases will include musical recordings of national anthems and regional folk music. Digital sound effects will include the proper pronunciations of names and other words. In The Guiness MultiMedia Disc of Records, sound effects let you hear such entries as the fastest talker and longest word. Improved graphics and massive areas for storage will allow companies to include professional photography more efficiently than ever. Many of these references also include powerful search and retrieval tools to help you navigate through the megabytes of data.

Reference software scheduled for release for Windows with Multimedia include The Software Toolworks World Atlas, a reference that uses an audio guide in place of a manual, from The Software Toolworks (60 Leveroni Court, Novato, California 94949; 415-883-3000); American Vista, a collection of visual, textual, and audio information about the United States, from Applied Optical Media (1450 Boot Road, Building 400, West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380; 215-429-3701); Great Cities of the World--Volume 1, a multimedia travel guide to Bombay, Cairo, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, and Tokyo, from InterOptica Publishing Limited (1213-1218 Shui On Centre, 6-8 Harbour Road, Hong Kong; 852-824-2868); CIA World Tour, a collection of declassified Central Intelligence Agency information about the world, from Bureau Development (141 New Road, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054; 800-828-4766); U.S. History on CD-ROM, a study of U.S. history from 1600 to the present, also from Bureau Development; Monarch Notes, a collection of the famous study guides that cover biographical information, critical analyses, and readings of famous passages, also from Bureau Development; The Guiness MultiMedia Disc of Records, an electronic version of the well-known catalog of great human achievements, from Compton's New Media (345 Fourth Street, San Francisco, California 94107;415-597-5555); Compton's MultiMedia Encyclopedia, a special versions of the reference that takes advantage of Windows' capabilities, also from Compton's New Media; Desert Storm: The First Draft of History, a replay of Time Magazine's coverage of the Gulf War, including background material and notes used by Time's reporters, from Warner New Media (3500 Olive Avenue, Burbank, California 91505; 818-955-9999); Electronic Library of Art, Volume I, A Sampler, a collection of art images covering painting, sculpture, and architecture, plus data cards with associated text and audio information, from Ebook (39315 Zacate Avenue, Fremont, California 94538; 415-794-4816); Learn to Speak Spanish, the Survival Manual Series, and the Berlitz Think & Talk Series, a group of packages that teach foreign languages through different educational methods, from the HyperGlot Software Company (P.O. Box 10746, 5108-D Kingston Pike, Knoxville, Tennessee 37939-0746; 615-558-8270); and Composer Quest, a program focusing on the history of music from the 17th to the 20th century, from Dr. T's Music Software (100 Crescent Road, Suite 1B, Needham, Massachusetts 02192:617-455-1454).