Ways of Presenting Your Data

HARD COPY Hard copy (printouts on paper) may gradually be replaced and the reasons for this are: 1paper is expensive to buy and to store 2the use of paper encourages people to photocopy it so that they don't lose it 3many bills, invoices, etc. are preprinted and this is expensive 4the use of paper is not environmentally friendly 5moving paper around an organisation takes time

There are, however, some advantages: 1 with legal documents, it is hard to prove that an electronic letter has been received and seen 2everyone is able to use a paper based system 3 paper is easier to read than a computer screen 4it is easier to flick back and forth in a paper document 5paper can be read on the move and in circumstances where a computer might not be available.

Multimedia is the presentation of information by a computer system using graphics, animation, sound and text. The data may be stored in a variety of ways using conventional computer storage devices, together with a picture database on CD-ROM. Output might be through VDUs, sound generators and laser projectors.

PRODUCING MULTIMEDIA SOFTWARE A lot of equipment is needed to produce really good software. You can prepare your own multimedia software if you have a multimedia authoring package.

Examples Flash MX Studio Ulead PhotoImpact 12 Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5 Revolution Enterprise

COMPUTER AIDED LEARNING (CAL) Computer aided learning can be used to instruct pupils and then test them on what they have learnt.

Virtual reality is a computer-generated environment that provides the user with the illusion of being present in that situation. Virtual reality is produced by providing feedback to our various senses: vision, hearing, movement and sometimes smell. As the used movers or acts, the image seen will change along with appropriate sound and movement. It usually requires high-powered computers.