The final section of the article has given a glimpse of a future which is already present. It is only a year since browsers supporting the forms capability of HTML/HTTP became available. It is only six months since those browsers became available on the Macintosh and PC platforms. It is only this month that the HTML level 2.0 standard has become sufficiently widely agreed as to be issued as an Internet RFC. The Internet provides an incredibly productive environment for the rapid prototyping of systems that are instantly deployed and used by millions of people with highly creative imaginations.
It is not unreasonable to compare what we see occurring on the net with the flowering of Greek culture in the Enlightenment and with that of European culture in the Renaissance. There is a new culture on the Internet which is no longer primarily technological but instead reflects a deep and unfolding relationship between human discourse and action, and its technological support. Widespread access to the Internet means also that the culture is not geographically located, and the nature of the human-computer interface also transcends many traditional divisions based on individual characteristics. It is by no means Utopian--the net reflects humanity and is being used in a wide variety of ways that reflect both the best and the worst of human traits (Renear and Bilder, 1993; Reid, 1994).
However, it is not socio-cultural analyses that are significant in the growth in the use of multimedia digital materials, CD-ROM and Internet communications. It is the immense capabilities of these technologies to provide major resources addressing urgent needs that is the source of the explosive growth in their use. I hope this article helps potential users of these resources integrate them into their own activities effectively, and that it will serve to reduce the frustrations of harnessing attractive and powerful yet rapidly changing technologies.
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