Advances in Computing Chapter 13 Multimedia, Artificial Intelligence, and Intelligent Agents © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000

Ch 13 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Entertainment and Games I’ve installed my games, but my multimedia system seems so slow. Besides buying a new machine, what can I do? Games are very CPU-intensive and memory- intensive. First male sure that you comply with specifications on the package Some systems can take a CPU upgrade Most systems need more memory for multimedia games In both cases, make sure that your motherboard is specified for the proposed upgrade

Ch 13 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Creating Multimedia Three items can make marked difference in the quality produced on a PC –1) higher-quality recorder, camera, and/or video cam –2) higher-quality microphone –3) higher-quality cables

Ch 13 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Content Database The number-one mistake communications beginners make in multimedia production –not labeling versions before the tape or disk is accepted

Ch 13 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Sound Proper sound levels are critical in determining whether the sound is a distraction or an addition to the production Music intonation should be complementary to the scene

Ch 13 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Animation Multimedia beginners want more and more animation Too much animation is a distraction from the production theme Animations should be added only to enhance, not dominate, a normal production

Ch 13 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Multimedia Presentation Software After initial training in multimedia software presentation, one technique for improvement is to try three functions a day, keeping a log of each functions’ utility Most such software has additional add-ins, which can be tried for a trial period The best policy is to have a “test” PC separate from the rest, and to plan several unhurried days a month for trying new combinations

Ch 13 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Artificial Intelligence AI –could be the next major wave of computers affecting major portions of daily modern life –robotics, natural language processing, fuzzy logic, expert systems, neural network, virtual reality -- all -- have the ability to assist tremendously in training and daily tasks –the other news is that AI will never be a substitute for learning and understanding any major area of knowledge

Ch 13 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Robotics and Perception Systems While robotics clubs have been around universities for a decade, the vastly increasing power of CPU, memory, and system buses have only now facilitated by major changes in robot functionality and capability Robotics clubs are producing systems that industry is interested in

Ch 13 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Expert Systems ES and EIS, Executive Information System, have a better informed executive The paper and automobile industries use them

Ch 13 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Neural Networks One of the biggest breakthrough in neutral networks was the understanding that human neural networks are, in fact, an amalgamation of both analog and digital computer complexities, not simply digital