the answer is neither simple nor easy. multimedia is the combination of computer and video technology. multimedia really just two media sound and pictures, or in today's term, audio and video. multimedia itself has its binary aspects. as with all modern technologies, it is made from a mix of hardware and software, machine and ideas. more importantly, you can conceptually divide technology and function of multimedia into control systems and information. the enabling force behind multimedia is digital technology. multimedia represents the convergence of digital control and digital media－－the pc as the digital control system and the digital media being today's most advanced form of audio and video storage and transmission. in fact, some people see multimedia simply as the marriage of pcs and video. pc power has reached a level close to that needed for procession television and sound data streams in real time, multimedia was born. multimedia pc needs to be more powerful than mainstream computer－－at least the multimedia pc defines the mainstream. among contemporary pcs, about the only things that separate an ordinary computer from multimedia are a soundboard and a cd- rom driver. the cd serves as multimedia 's chief storage and exchange medium. without the convenient cd, the pc industry would lack a means of distributing the hundreds of megabytes of audio, visual, and textual data that make up today's multimedia titles. without cd, you couldn't buy multimedia because publishers have no way of getting it to you. 　　so what is multimedia? by now you should agree that multimedia isn't any one thing but a complex entity that involves the many things: hardware, software, and the interface where they meet. but we've forgotten the most important thing that multimedia involves: you. yeah, sure. with multimedia, you don' t have to be a passive recipient. you can control. you can interact. you can make it do what you want it to do. it means you can tailor a multimedia presentation to your own needs. you can cut through the chaff and dig directly into the important data in a report, pull together reports and video clips from around the world that interest you. that's the strength of multimedia and what distinguishes it from traditional media like books and television.
　　what does multimedia do? it presents information, shares ideas and elicits emotions. it enables you to see, hear, and understand the thoughts of others. in other words, it is a form of communication.