THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 18, 1996 TAG: 9602160721
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Book Review
SOURCE: BY JEREMIAH CRONIN
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
THE ROAD AHEAD
Printed book with companion interactive CD-ROM
BILL GATES
Viking. 286 pp. $29.95.
The Road Ahead by Bill Gates is about the future and the possibilities of what is today called ``the information highway.'' Unique about this book, which was published last year, is the accompanying CD-ROM, a computer readable disk containing text, sound, video and graphics. It is a precursor to the types of presentations that the media-savvy Microsoft Corp. chairman believes will become common.
Along with the book text, the CD contains interactive video scenarios of how the highway will influence home, business and education; video interviews with Gates; a tour of his futuristic house; software that enables users to cruise the Internet; and an indexing system that allows the user to access topics throughout the CD. Gates not only hypothesizes about the future, he presents a solid example.
CD-ROM technology is ushering in a new style of artistic creativity. Most art, whether in the form of printed books, plays, movies, etc., is linear in nature. In a book, a good author sets the stage in the beginning and builds upon that foundation to lead one down a single path to conclusion. The CD-ROM is non-linear. An interactive collage of text, video, audio and graphics is created in which the reader/user exercises control over the experience within a universe established by the author. The structure is no longer that of a line, but that of a network. Thus no one has exactly the same experience.
A key ingredient in a successful CD-ROM or any new technological presentation of content is staying power. A piece that doesn't have it ends up on the shelf after a few ``That's nice'' comments.
Many first works rely on the whiz-bang effect of the media instead of the power of compelling content. Audio CDs, CD-ROMs and Internet sites are three recent examples of media in which this occurred or is continuing. With audio CD the problem was short-lived. This art form was already well developed. When the lead medium changed from vinyl LPs to CDs, it was a minor leap and business went on as usual.
In the case of interactive authorship, however, there is limited knowledge as to what brings people back to the CD-ROM or Internet site. A spinning logo on your opening page is nice the first time you see it, but it doesn't lead to a return trip. While it is true that well-designed screen layouts and artfully integrated media are becoming the norm, what is seriously lacking now is content. There is a need for more authorship to accompany the technical programming and computer graphics expertise.
While mass interactive media hold out dazzling possibilities, my experience with Gates' and other people's work tells me that there are many technical and stylistic issues to overcome.
Currently, the storage capacity of the CD-ROM or the transmission rates of the Internet effectively limit how deep the author can go. While ``a picture is worth a thousand words,'' it represents many times that in storage space or transmission time in a multimedia work. An audio portion consumes even more, and a short video clip consumes the space of a long book. The author's room is limited, and trade-offs are made to achieve a golden mean.
As technology improves, capacities will increase. This does not necessarily mean an immediate increase in content. As additional space and speed are acquired, they will be used to improve the audio, video and animation capacities. These are now about the equivalent of early television and radio. The authoring of interesting works with staying power is going to be the chief challenge of these new art forms.
We are entering a new era of authorship as significant as that begun by Gutenberg and his contemporaries. The movable type press opened up the world of letters to ordinary people. This led to an explosion of communications and learning with an upheaval in social structures. New information technologies are opening up the world of experience in a fashion that will be just as significant. Gates' CD does a very credible job of portraying that world.
- MEMO: Jeremiah Cronin is an environmental consultant, musician and ``record''
producer. He resides in Norfolk in physical space and at
jcron(at)ininfi.net in cyberspace. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Bill Gates' book comes with a CD-ROM that is a good example of the
future he's predicting. by CNB