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Interactive media

Read in our cover theme, how interactive media will revolutionise entertainment, learning, and many other areas.

Interactive media - The new user experience
A silent revolution is under way, which will fundamentally change how we experience content through digital media.The next generation of interactive media will converge different ICT technologies into something completely new, providing a ubiquitous and personalised media experience based on new forms of human-machine interaction.

Shapeshift TV - Novel tools for interactive media production
Media creation is changing. It always has, and always will. One of the key reasons for change is the emergence of new ways of distributing media. Theatres have plays, books have novels, and cinema has film. Each tells a story. But plays are different from novels, and novels are different from films.

Interactive Village - A shapeshifted interactive media production
Interactive Village is a prototype media production using interactive multimedia production tools developed as part of the European research project NM2 (New Media for a New Millennium). The production, which offers a documentary profile of the Czech village Dolní Roveň, allows users to piece together an individual viewing based on their own interests and choices.

The future of interactive TV - Interview with Mika Tuomola from Crucible Studio
Many people are talking about interactive TV, but only few have produced it so far. Eurescom mess@ge editor-in-chief Milon Gupta talked to someone who did: Mika 'Lumi' Tuomola, artistic director of Crucible Studio at the Media Lab of the University of Art and Design Helsinki As director, he has created one of the first really interactive comedies, “Accidental Lovers”, which was broadcasted on Finnish TV.

VIEWPOINT

Interactive media - More than a buzzword
In Google the search term “interactive media” returns more than two million results. Though not enough to qualify for the buzzword of the year, it clearly shows that there is some hype about “interactive media”. The term is used and sometimes misused for a vast variety of things. Generally speaking “interactive media” comprises media that allow for active participation by the recipient. But how active should this participation be?

IN FOCUS

The European Investment Bank - Innovative finance for RDI
The European Investment Bank (EIB) was established in 1958 as the long term financing institution of the European Union, investing in projects promoting European objectives. Through loans, guarantees and technical assistance, the EIB has actively contributed to the financing of the integration and development of the EU Member States. The Bank also supports the EU’s cooperation and development policies outside the Union.

TUTORIAL

Radio resource management
Future radio access networks (RANs) are expected to provide ubiquitous broadband access, good quality of service (QoS), and, whenever possible, seamless mobility. To meet these requirements while limiting infrastructure investments, efficient radio resource management (RRM) is needed. This overview describes trends in RRM of future RANs.

Smart cars for safer roads - The EU's Intelligent Car Initiative is gaining speed
Every year, about 1.3 million road accidents happen in the EU, and more than 40,000 people die on EU roads. Nine out of ten road accidents are caused by human error. Although the number of fatal accidents has decreased in the last ten years, a much larger decrease is possible through intelligent vehicle systems. In 2001, the European Commission set the target to halve road fatalities by 2010. Recent advances in European R&D raise hopes that this target could be achieved.

E-mail in bed - The growing e-mail addiction
Thanks to mobile devices, e-mail has become ubiquitous. You can check your e-mails anytime and anywhere through laptops, smartphones, and wireless handheld devices, like the BlackBerry. And this is exactly what a growing number of people do, up to the point of addictive behaviour. They check their electronic messages in cars, bathrooms and even in bed.