This textbook provides an introduction to the fundamentals of serious games, which differ considerably from computer games that are meant for pure entertainment. Undergraduate and graduate students from various disciplines who want to learn about serious games are one target group of this book. Prospective developers of serious games are another, as they can use the book for self-study in order to learn about the distinctive features of serious game design and development. And ultimately, the book also addresses prospective users of serious game technologies by providing them with a solid basis for judging the advantages and limitations of serious games in different application areas such as game-based learning, training and simulation or games for health. To cater to this heterogeneous readership and wide range of interests, every effort was made to make the book flexible to use. All readers are expected to study Chapter 1, as it provides the necessary basics and terminology that will be used in all subsequent chapters. The eleven chapters that follow cover the creation of serious games (design, authoring processes and tools, content production), the runtime context of serious games (game engines, adaptation mechanisms, game balancing, game mastering, multi-player serious games), the effects of serious games and their evaluation (player experience, assessment techniques, performance indicators), and serious games in practice (economic aspects, cost-benefit analysis, serious game distribution). To familiarize the readers with best practice in this field, the final chapter presents more than 30 selected examples of serious games illustrating their characteristics and showcasing their practical use. Lecturers can select chapters in a sequence that is most suitable for their specific course or seminar. The book includes specific suggestions for courses such as "Introduction to Serious Games", "Entertainment Technology", "Serious Game Design", "Game-based Learning", and "Applications of Serious Games".

Peer-to-peer systems are now widely used and have become the focus of attention for many researchers over the past decade. A number of algorithms for decentralized search, content distribution, and media streaming have been developed. This book provides fundamental concepts for the benchmarking of those algorithms in peer-to-peer systems. It also contains a collection of characteristic benchmarking results. The chapters of the book have been organized in three topical sections on: Fundamentals of Benchmarking in P2P Systems; Synthetic Benchmarks for Peer-to-Peer Systems; and Application Benchmarks for Peer-to-Peer Systems. They are preceded by a detailed introduction to the subject.

High-Speed Networking for Multimedia Applications presents the latest research on the architecture and protocols for high-speed networks, focusing on communication support for distributed multimedia applications. This includes the two major issues of ATM Networking and quality of service for multimedia applications. It is to be expected that most of the bandwidth in future high-speed networks will be taken up by multimedia applications, transmitting digital audio and video. Traditional networking protocols are not suitable for this as they do not provide guaranteed bandwidth, end-to-end delay or delay jitter, nor do they have addressing schemes or routing algorithms for multicast connections. High-Speed Networking for Multimedia Applications is a collection of high quality research papers which address these issues, providing interesting and innovative solutions. It is an essential reference for engineers and computer scientists working in this area. It is also a comprehensive text for graduate students of high-speed networking and multimedia applications.

Multimedia data streams will form a major part of the new generation of applications in high-speed networks. Continuous media streams, however, require transmission with guaranteed performance. In addition, many multimedia applications will require peer-to-multipeer communication. Guaranteed performance can only be provided with resource reservation in the network, and efficient multipeer communication must be based on multicast support in the lower layers of the network. Architecture and Protocols for High-Speed Networks focuses on techniques for building the networks that will meet the needs of these multimedia applications. In particular two areas of current research interest in such communication systems are covered in depth. These are the protocol related aspects, such as switched networks, ATM, MAC layer, network and transport layer; and the services and applications. Architecture and Protocols for High-Speed Networks contains contributions from leading world experts, giving the most up-to-date research available. It is an essential reference for all professionals, engineers and researchers working in the area of high-speed networks.

High-Performance Networks for Multimedia Applications presents the latest research on the services and protocols for networks providing the communication support for distributed multimedia applications. The need for end-to-end QoS for these multimedia applications is raising the stakes for a powerful shaping and scheduling in the network adapter. It is also creating a need for new services at the ATM layer, CBR and VBR being augmented by UBR, ABR and GFR which have to be evaluated in the TCP/IP environment of today and tomorrow. With the pressure of all the new technologies available today, the backbone architecture needs to be revisited and the success of the TCP/IP must not eliminate the possibility of adding a native ATM access to it. Most of the research in communication services such as IntServ, DiffServ and Native ATM is driven by the requirements of multimedia systems and this book illustrates the new emphasis by bringing telecommunication and computer communication experts together with application designers. This is particularly true for the security issues also addressed here. Last but not least, modeling techniques and mathematical models are essential to assess the performance of the networks to be built and to evaluate next century scenarios unachievable by a simple scaling of today's solutions. High-Performance Networks for Multimedia Applications is a collection of high quality research papers and the in-depth treatment of the subjects provides interesting and innovative solutions. It is an essential reference for telecommunication and computer experts and QoS-based application designers. It is also a comprehensive text for graduate students in high-perforrnance networks and multimedia applications.

High-Speed Networking for Multimedia Applications presents the latest research on the architecture and protocols for high-speed networks, focusing on communication support for distributed multimedia applications. This includes the two major issues of ATM Networking and quality of service for multimedia applications. It is to be expected that most of the bandwidth in future high-speed networks will be taken up by multimedia applications, transmitting digital audio and video. Traditional networking protocols are not suitable for this as they do not provide guaranteed bandwidth, end-to-end delay or delay jitter, nor do they have addressing schemes or routing algorithms for multicast connections. High-Speed Networking for Multimedia Applications is a collection of high quality research papers which address these issues, providing interesting and innovative solutions. It is an essential reference for engineers and computer scientists working in this area. It is also a comprehensive text for graduate students of high-speed networking and multimedia applications.

Multimedia data streams will form a major part of the new generation of applications in high-speed networks. Continuous media streams, however, require transmission with guaranteed performance. In addition, many multimedia applications will require peer-to-multipeer communication. Guaranteed performance can only be provided with resource reservation in the network, and efficient multipeer communication must be based on multicast support in the lower layers of the network. Architecture and Protocols for High-Speed Networks focuses on techniques for building the networks that will meet the needs of these multimedia applications. In particular two areas of current research interest in such communication systems are covered in depth. These are the protocol related aspects, such as switched networks, ATM, MAC layer, network and transport layer; and the services and applications. Architecture and Protocols for High-Speed Networks contains contributions from leading world experts, giving the most up-to-date research available. It is an essential reference for all professionals, engineers and researchers working in the area of high-speed networks.

This textbook provides an introduction to the fundamentals of serious games, which differ considerably from computer games that are meant for pure entertainment. Undergraduate and graduate students from various disciplines who want to learn about serious games are one target group of this book. Prospective developers of serious games are another, as they can use the book for self-study in order to learn about the distinctive features of serious game design and development. And ultimately, the book also addresses prospective users of serious game technologies by providing them with a solid basis for judging the advantages and limitations of serious games in different application areas such as game-based learning, training and simulation or games for health. To cater to this heterogeneous readership and wide range of interests, every effort was made to make the book flexible to use. All readers are expected to study Chapter 1, as it provides the necessary basics and terminology that will be used in all subsequent chapters. The eleven chapters that follow cover the creation of serious games (design, authoring processes and tools, content production), the runtime context of serious games (game engines, adaptation mechanisms, game balancing, game mastering, multi-player serious games), the effects of serious games and their evaluation (player experience, assessment techniques, performance indicators), and serious games in practice (economic aspects, cost-benefit analysis, serious game distribution). To familiarize the readers with best practice in this field, the final chapter presents more than 30 selected examples of serious games illustrating their characteristics and showcasing their practical use. Lecturers can select chapters in a sequence that is most suitable for their specific course or seminar. The book includes specific suggestions for courses such as "Introduction to Serious Games", "Entertainment Technology", "Serious Game Design", "Game-based Learning", and "Applications of Serious Games".

High-Performance Networks for Multimedia Applications presents the latest research on the services and protocols for networks providing the communication support for distributed multimedia applications. The need for end-to-end QoS for these multimedia applications is raising the stakes for a powerful shaping and scheduling in the network adapter. It is also creating a need for new services at the ATM layer, CBR and VBR being augmented by UBR, ABR and GFR which have to be evaluated in the TCP/IP environment of today and tomorrow. With the pressure of all the new technologies available today, the backbone architecture needs to be revisited and the success of the TCP/IP must not eliminate the possibility of adding a native ATM access to it. Most of the research in communication services such as IntServ, DiffServ and Native ATM is driven by the requirements of multimedia systems and this book illustrates the new emphasis by bringing telecommunication and computer communication experts together with application designers. This is particularly true for the security issues also addressed here. Last but not least, modeling techniques and mathematical models are essential to assess the performance of the networks to be built and to evaluate next century scenarios unachievable by a simple scaling of today's solutions. High-Performance Networks for Multimedia Applications is a collection of high quality research papers and the in-depth treatment of the subjects provides interesting and innovative solutions. It is an essential reference for telecommunication and computer experts and QoS-based application designers. It is also a comprehensive text for graduate students in high-perforrnance networks and multimedia applications.

Dieses Buch bietet eine offene objektorientierte Losung fur die Entwicklung verteilter Multimedia-Applikationen. Es geht insbesondere um die Systemunterstutzung "Distributed Multimedia Object Services" (DMOS), mit der sich die Komplexitat multimedialer Anwendungen reduzieren lasst. DMOS bildet eine Plattform, die multimediale Anwendungen zur Entwicklungs- und Laufzeit unterstutzt. Hierdurch wird die Verarbeitung zeitabhangiger Medien wie Ton und Bewegtbild in einer verteilten Systemumgebung ermoglicht. Da DMOS-Objekte dem Industriestandard CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) der Open Management Group entsprechen, lassen sich die mit dieser Systemunterstutzung entwickelten multimedialen Module leicht in unterschiedlichste Anwendungen und Rechnerumgebungen integrieren.
Die Starke des Buches liegt in seiner sehr anschaulichen Darstellung, die den wissenschaftlich orientierten als auch den praxisorientierten Leser gleichermassen anspricht und ihn durch den Problemkomplex verteilter multimedialer Anwendungen fuhrt."

Die Informationstechnologie im Zeitalter nach Gutenberg bedeutet neue Herausforderungen fur Autoren, Journalisten und Medienschaffende jeglicher Provenienz. Das Buch vermittelt praxisnah und beispielorientiert das grundlegende Wissen, wie Artikel, Bucher, Zeitschriften online oder offline konzipiert und realisiert werden. Dabei wird insbesondere gezeigt, wie im Internet selbst Moglichkeiten der Unterstutzung bei der Realisierung genutzt werden konnen.
Die Starke des Buches liegt vor allem da, wo sich die Darstellung an die Vermittlung des Wesentlichen halt und nicht bei den Zufalligkeiten konkreter Autorensysteme haften bleibt. Das Buch bleibt auf seine Weise aktuell und grundlegend gleichermassen.
Rezension in "Die Zeit im Buch" 51.Jg., 1/97, S. 15 1997
(...) Kein Ratgeber, sondern ein serioses, umfangreiches Buch mit vielen ung gut recherierten Hintergrundinformationen, (...)"

Das Buch zeigt, wie das WWW fur den Aufbau eines unternehmensweiten Informationssystems genutzt wird, uber das der Mitarbeiter einfach auf alle relevanten Informationsressourcen zugreifen kann. Es analysiert prazise die Starken und Schwachen des World Wide Web im betrieblichen Einsatz. Daraus wird eine mehrschichtige Architektur betrieblicher WWW-Informationssysteme abgeleitet sowie ein Vorgehensmodell zur Durchfuhrung erfolgreicher WWW-Projekte entwickelt. Das Buch beantwortet viele Fragen, mit denen IT-Abteilungen konfrontiert sind und eignet sich als Leitfaden bei der Umsetzung konkreter WWW-Projekte.
Zentrale Themen sind:
- die Beschreibung der Architektur betrieblicher WWW-Anwendungen
. die Kombination des WWW mit Datenbanken und verteilten Systemen
. ein Vorgehensmodell zur Durchfuhrung von WWW-Projekten
. die Vorstellung von Methoden zum Entwurf von WWW-Systemen"

Das Buch wendet sich an Anwender und Entwickler sowie Dozenten und Studenten, die sich mit dem Einsatz von digitalem Video und der auftretenden Problematik von Sicherheit und Vertraulichkeit beschaftigen. Der Bogen wird gespannt von Videokonferenzen uber das Internet mit offenem und geschlossenem Benutzerkreis, dem digitalen Fernsehen mit den Moeglichkeiten fur Pay-TV-Szenarien bis hin zu Internet- und WWW-Applikationen, die digitales Video einsetzen. Es werden die dort eingesetzten Verfahren erlautert, auftretende Probleme aufgezeigt und die Loesungen dafur vorgestellt. Ein Schwerpunkt bildet hierbei die Betrachtung von skalierbaren Videostroemen, welche in zukunftigen Videoanwendungen eine wichtige Rolle spielen werden. Ebenso geht das Buch auf die Datensicherheit ein und stellt die fur Videodaten geeigneten kryptographischen Methoden vor. Es beschreibt die speziell an das Medium Video angepassten Verschlusselungskonzepte, mit besonderem Augenmerk auf der Skalierbarkeit der vorgestellten Methoden.

Die Fachtagung "Kommunikation in verteilten Systemen" hat zum Ziel, neue Erkenntnisse zu Konzepten, Anwendungen und Auswirkungen von verteilten Systemen und den zugehorigen Kommunikationsaspekten zu vermitteln. Die 7. Fachtagung fand vom 20. bis 22. Februar 1991 an der Universitat Mannheim statt. Der Tagungsband wendet sich an Informatiker, Ingenieure und andere Fachleute in diesem Arbeitsgebiet aus Universitaten und Forschungseinrichtungen, Industrie, Verwaltung und Telekom. Die thematischen Schwerpunkte sind - Architektur verteilter Systeme; - Offene Netze und offene verteilte Verarbeitung; - Intelligente und flexible Netze; - Protokolle fur Hochgeschwindigkeitsnetze; - Netzplanung und Netzmanagement; - Formale Beschreibung, Test und Verifikation; - Verteilte Betriebssysteme; - Verteilte Datenbanksysteme; - Verteilte Anwendungen, Tele-Kooperation.