Multimedia mania: eight computers that supply sights, sounds, and a wealth of software - Hardware Review - Evaluation

Home Office Computing, August, 1993 by Joey Latimer

Eight Computers That Supply Sights, Sounds, and a Wealth of Software

The other day, a financial planner came to our house to outline fiscal strategies for our future retirement and our daughter's education. Sporting a 256-color notebook computer, he used specially prepared, animated charts and graphics displays, complete with music and sound effects, to show us how much we need to sock away each month to meet our goals. "It does everything 'cept the talking for me," he bragged, as he slid the laptop back into his briefcase. When he left, my wife looked at me and said, "I think I actually understood what he was trying to say!"

Compared with the effective multimedia presentation we saw that night, it seems hard to believe that just a few years ago most computers could barely manage a decent beep through tinny, built-in speakers and provided mere four-color video displays. Today multimedia is a catchall phrase describing an important direction in which personal computing is heading. A multimedia computer, equipped with stereo sound, high-quality graphics and video, and access to the massive storage of CD-ROMs, is key. In the business world, where a desirable image will get you in the door and a successful presentation can seal a deal, a multimedia computer system can mean the difference between you and your competition.

Multimedia systems have been around for a little while, but they were often painfully and expensively custom-built using multimedia upgrade kits. You'd have to purchase a kit separately, open your PC to install it, then set jumpers and interrupts until the configuration was just right. Now almost all mainstream personal computer-makers are producing affordable, pre-assembled systems like the eight we compare here. And even more are on the way. Glenn Ochsenreiter, managing director of the MPC (Multimedia PC) Marketing Council, estimates that there are 1.5 million multimedia systems in homes and offices now, and he projects a total of three million by Christmas. In fact, he expects all systems to be sold multimedia-ready within three years.

So what's it good for? You may already have seen a plethora of great educational and entertainment CD-ROMs, including encyclopedias and reference volumes such as Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia, Grolier's The Guinness Disc of World Records, and Creative Multimedia's The Family Doctor. Unfortunately, in the first few years of mainstream multimedia computing, few solid business programs were produced. In recent months, however, software titles have been released that allow multimedia systems to perform a number of beneficial business tasks. For starters, you can use the CD-ROM drive to search through large informational databases, such as Lesko's Computerized Federal Data Base Finder, which lists 4,000 examples, American Business Information's American Business PhoneBook, or Infobusiness's Info Power, which provides instant access to market studies, census data, hotlines, money sources, experts, and more. Then there's Kodak's new Photo CD technology, which lets you shoot pictures, have the film developed onto compact discs rather than as prints (a service available at various photo shops around the country), and cut and paste the images into your presentations or desktop-publishing projects. Another product, Graphics Works, from Micrografx, delivers a CD stocked with clip art and fonts, as well as programs for drawing, charts and graphs, photo editing, and slide shows. And if you're really anxious to delve in, you can use one of many new multimedia presentation packages, such as Asymetrix's easy-to-use Compel, for creating sales presentations and proposals complete with stereo sound (including recordings of your own voice), slides, video images, and vivid color.

SYSTEM SHOPPING LIST

When you set out to buy your multimedia PC and software, you might notice a yellow sticker that says "MPC." These products meet either the Level 1 or Level 2 standards--which refer to the amount of RAM, hard-disk size, type of display, CD-ROM capability, and sound card, defined by the Multimedia PC Marketing Council. The benefit of this demarcation is that you'll know that MPC-approved software will run on MPC-certified hardware. But don't rely on the sticker entirely: MPC Level 1 systems (based on a 386 processor with a mere 2MB of RAM) run sluggishly. Either exceed these specifications or buy a 486 system marked MPC Level 2. Below are some more guidelines for making a multimedia purchase.

Processor speed. A 486 processor is essential for power-hungry multimedia applications. All the computers reviewed, except the Apple Centris 650, are equipped with ample 486SX or faster 486DX processors rated at either 25 or 33 MHz. A different beast, Apple's Centris 650 uses the Macintosh operating system and sports a speedy 68040 processor rated at 25 MHz; this performed comparably if not better than the 33-MHz 486DX PCs.

Memory and hard-disk drive. Eight megabytes of RAM is normally the minimum needed to swiftly run multimedia programs. Also, because some applications that reside on the hard-disk drive are laden with large sound and video clips, hard-disk space is eaten up quickly. The bigger the drive, the better, with 170MB being the minimum I'd recommend. Finally, look for a hard-disk drive with a quick average access time (less than 20ms), which makes for smoother sound and video playback.