Technology is one of the most difficult areas in which to make predictions, because new inventions occur at such a fast pace that the future changes before it gets here. How can the future change before it gets here? Big companies invest millions of dollars promoting new products, leading the consumer to believe that their products will be the mainstream of the future, but shortly after coming to market, the products get abandoned because the vendors pursue newer technologies that promise bigger profits. This has happened so often during the past two decades that almost anyone involved with multimedia has been frustrated by purchasing so-called mainstream technologies that quickly go out-of-date and are abandoned by their manufacturers.
Knowledge is the best strategy for coping with fast-paced change. The more you know about the issues and technologies, the better prepared you will be to make strategic choices. Read chapters 14 through 17, and follow the links below to online units of instruction that bring the readings to life.
This module consists of four units of instruction containing online activities that prepare you for completing the course assignments. Follow the links below to study the unit of your choice:
| Unit 4-1 | Multimedia Frontiers, identifies the frontiers that multimedia researchers are investigating. |
| Unit 4-2 | Emerging Technology, studies the technologies that are emerging. |
| Unit 4-3 | Societal Issues, reflects on how people are affected by the manner in which multimedia technologies are used. |
| Unit 4-4 | How to Keep Up, enables you to find out about and even contribute to new knowledge in this exciting field. |
