A Volume in the Communications, Networking and Multimedia Series The first decade of the new milennium can easily be labeled the age of multimedia. Advances in computer hardware and software, coupled with advances in communication systems and devices from the Internet to wireless personal assistants, are becoming part of the everyday lives of hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Central to these rapid advances is the use of multiple media, more specifically digital interactive multimedia, such as sound, computer graphics, animation, text, and video, as tools for communication. Multimedia are first and foremost a means of communication between humans. In the past 15 years the development of user-friendly software has been aimed specifically at eliminating the need for computer users to know how to write computer code and programs. However, it is clear that a fundamental understanding of how a computer functions is a great advantage in maximizing its potential as a tool. This is also true for multimedia communications. To take full advantage of the potential for a wide array of multimedia applications, it is important to have a broad understanding of the principles of various media. Introduction to Multimedia Systems has been developed to be the first place to turn, as an introductory textbook or as a professional reference, for anyone diving into multimedia preparation. A full survey of multimedia capabilities is covered in this book. Website Feature: Learning by doing! The editors have developed this book in combination with a wide array of sample software and Web links for the reader to learn how to build by example. Each part of the book has a direct link to a publicly accessibly Web site that maintains these available software tools. The Web links will be updated as software versions advance, and most of the software involves demo or scaled-down versions of commercially available multimedia design software/editing tools. The Web site can be accessed at http://www.academicpress.com/multimedia. Contents Prelude to Multimedia1. Overview of Multimedia SystemsPrelude to Audio2. The Nature of Sound3. Introduction to Digital Audio4. Audio Editing5. Music and SpeechAn Interlude: Free for All6. Audio: From CD to the Web7. The WAV File FormatPrelude to Graphics8. The Paint Shop Pro Interface9. ColorsAn Interlude: The Properties of Light10. File Formats and Web Graphics11. Layers and FiltersAn Interlude: Vision12. Process of Animation13. VideoAn Interlude: The Term Dimension14. 3-D Graphics15. Text in Multimedia and the InternetAn Interlude: Meaning in Binary Strings16. Art and Design17. Cognitive User InterfacesAn Interlude: Development of Cognitive Systems18. Authoring Multimedia in Visual BasicIndex