s will probably forever change the way people get information. The computer's ability to instantly retrieve a tiny piece of information from the midst of a huge mass of data has always been one of its most important uses. Since video and audio clips can be stored alongside text on a single CD-ROM disc, a whole new way of exploring a subject is possible . By using hyperlinks--a programming method by which related terms, articles, pictures, and sounds are internally hooked together--material can be presented to people so that they can peruse it in a typically human manner, by association. For example, if you are reading about Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and you want to read about the battle of Gettysburg, you need only click on the highlighted hyperlink "battle of Gettysburg." Instantly, the appropriate text, photos, and maps appear on the monitor. "Pennsylvania" is another click away, and so on. Encyclopedias, almanacs, collections of reference books, interactive games using movie footage, educational programs, and even motion pictures with accompanying screenplay, actor biographies, director's notes, and reviews make multimedia one of the computer world's most exciting and creative fields. The Information Superhighway A computer network is the interconnection of many individual computers, much as a road is the link between the homes and the buildings of a city. Having many separate computers linked on a network provides many advantages to organizations such as businesses and universities. People may quickly and easily share files; modify databases; send memos called E-mail, or electronic mail; run programs on remote mainframes; and get access to information in databases that are too massive to fit on a small computer's hard drive. Networks provide an essential tool for the routing, managing, and storing of huge amounts of rapidly changing data. The Internet is a network of networks: ...
