Distributed multimedia application theory and practise

The rapid increase in the capacity of computers and communication networks has pro-duced
a spectacular development of distributed multimedia applications. This still raises a
number of questions, at the technological level as well as on the realizability and usability
of such applications. These applications offer new possibilities in the man-machine commu-nication,
and also in the man-machine-man communication. In this presentation, we show
some examples of such applications that we feel will have an impact on the evolution of the
way we find our information, the way we work together and the way we learn. We are estab-lishing
a new environment, the Business Application Laboratory, which takes an applica-tion-
driven approach to designing new technology.