The Compact Disc-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) data format is explained and illustrated, noting current and potential applications. The "5-inch" compact laserdisc is described and photographs of an IBM PC/Hitachi CD-ROM system adopted by Library Corporation to support its MARC database--BiblioFile--are presented. Screen displays for…

Recent work on the development and testing of various components of the Lincoln Training System (LTS) is reported. Plans were further developed for the testing of the LTS-1 terminal at the Keeler Technical Training Center in order to prove that this type of terminal can function as the main medium of teaching in a self-paced training environment.…

Discusses technological research efforts by the Research and Development Department of the British Library in the areas of videotex, videodisc, and teleconferencing, noting the videotex service known as Prestel and the department's network project, called BLEND (Birmingham and Loughborough Electronic Network Development). (EJS)

Presents a system model for transmission of input data that is coming from terminals of users in a limited user resource-sharing environment. Performance of a mini/microcomputer receiving mixture of picture-phone terminal data is analyzed with constant service times, synchronous transmission, and single-server interruptions through first-order…

Reviews the state of information technologies involving teletext, viewdata, interactive graphics, videodisc, audio synthesis, and holography, and discusses the current understanding of access schemes and cognitive processing. Sixteen suggested readings and nine references are cited. (FM)

A generalizable procedure for the analysis and design of information systems is described in the context of allied and supporting data methods, design assessment, and project management considerations. This procedure follows from a view of information systems development as a complex series of goal-directed iterations, rather than a well-ordered…

Details distinction between digital and analog data, advantages of analog storage, and optical disc use to store analog data. Configuration and potential of three levels of laser disc systems are explained. Selection of display devices for use with laser disc systems and accessing audio data are addressed. (Continued in next issue.) (EJS)

This hardware review describes such innovative features of the Texas Instrument Portable Professional Computer as integrated color screen and option slots permitting customization as well as the physical unit (inside and out), its mass storage flexibility, and sturdiness. A comparison with the IBM PC Portable is included. (MBR)

Describes new technology known as videodisc, including optical videodisc, capacitance electronic disc, and video high density disc. Entertainment, educational, training, and information storage and retrieval potentials of videodiscs are discussed. A list of agencies active in optical disc applications, useful Canadian videodisc contacts, and a…

Briefly reviews the origins of the hypermedia concept, comments on its use in higher education, and describes a project at Dartmouth College that developed a training process to introduce a hypermedia authoring environment to the academic community. (CLB)

Describes applications in variety of settings of videodiscs as tools of information retrieval with online databases, identifies underlying technical capabilities, and discusses five operations required to implement any application: coordinating diverse formats; indexing; physically arranging items on disc; designing input, search, and output;…

Project Intrex is a program of experiments intended to provide a foundation for the design of future information transfer systems, with the library of the future visualized as a computer-managed communications network. In order to discover the necessary facts, especially in the area of the user's interaction with the system, experimentation is…

Describes a videodisc-based information display system in which a computer terminal is used to search the online PATSEARCH database from a remote host with local microcomputer control to select and display drawings from the retrieved records. System features and system components are discussed and criteria for system evaluation are presented.…

This essay addresses problems associated with technology used in the handling of high-resolution visual images in electronic document delivery. Highlights include visual fidelity, laser-driven optical disk storage, electronics versus micrographics for document storage, videomicrographics, and system configurations and peripherals. (EJS)

This report describes the current status of Project INTREX experiments and provides a detailed technical record. Activities concentrating on the bibliographic access problem involve: (1) the investigation of a digitally-encoded, machine-manipulated augmented catalog, for which the task of preparing entries for 10,000 documents is about half…