Effective interplay between content and technology is necessary for us to realize the potential of multimedia. Content with poor technology results in inadequate performance and poor usability. Technology without attention to content may perform well, but it is unlikely to have a purpose. Try to imagine a musical recording, a movie, a book, or a magazine article without something creative to say. So it is with so many CD-ROMs and much of what we see on the Web.
Multimedia is more interesting when content and technology work well together.
Multimedia products are often loaded with beautiful images, and high-quality video and audio. Yet even the most perfectly produced multimedia product can leave us cold. It is ultimately point of view and interface that breathe life into any media. In 1989, an article I coauthored was published on CD-ROM, The New Papyrus. In it, I made the point that the interface is the product.