Have you been perplexed by the word multimedia?  Although I know what it refers to in a vague and general sense, I have
found it to be one of those irritatingly elusive computer terms. I went to a number of sources for definitions and formed my own.

My Webster’s New World Dictionary (Second College Edition, 1980)
Multimedia is the same as “mixed media” it says.  Mixed media is the simultaneous presentation of a series of effects in more
than two media, as by combining acting, flashing colored lights, tape recordings, etc.  In painting, it is the use of different media,
as watercolors and crayon in the same composition.

To get even more precise, I looked for the word media:
Media is the means, agency or instrumentality; specifically a means of communication that reaches the general public and carries
advertising.  Like a newspaper.

From the 1996 Writer’s Market:
Multimedia refers to the new technology’s ability to combine a variety of types of media in one product.  A CD-ROM can
deliver text, still photographs, animation, audio (music and spoken word) and even video.

From the nearest computer mentor (in this case, my husband John):
Multimedia means that a user can receive information from multiple sources (multi).  It’s a vehicle for passing info (media).  It
delivers visual and sound.

From the Computer Desktop Encyclopedia:
Multimedia means disseminating information in more than one form. It includes the use of text, audio, graphics, animated
graphics and full-motion video. Multimedia programs are typically games, encyclopedias and training courses on CD-ROM.
However, any application with sound and/or video can be called a multimedia program.

Internet:
Multimedia: pertaining to the processing and integrated presentation of information in more than one form, e.g., video, voice,
music, or data.

My definition:
Multimedia is the technological vehicle, typically a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), which allows for
simultaneous presentation to the user of two or more sources of information, such as these:
· visual graphics and/or
· animated graphics and/or
· full-motion video and/or
· audio (music, voice) and/or
· text (data)

 She can be reached by email at jana@barberio.com