All too often the concept of multimedia has promised to take us to another - virtual - world, only to let us down in a tangle of slow access, poor sound and drab, dull graphics. We are repeatedly told the future is now and the days of downloading videos on to our mobiles and "immersing" ourselves in non-linear narratives and hyperfictions are at hand.
But they're not. In fairness, this is not generally due to weaknesses in the ideas, but more to do with technological limitations.
Trinity College's MSc in Multimedia Systems Graduate Show, currently running at the Douglas Hyde Gallery, in Dublin, shows that multimedia technology can actually be exciting. Freed from commercial restraints and using the latest technologies in an ideal environment, multimedia can genuinely enhance the communication of ideas and concepts.
Many of the students are keen to emphasise they are not using multimedia "just for the sake of it", but because it adds a new dimension to their ideas.
The MSc in multimedia takes students from different academic backgrounds and combines their existing skills with the technological knowledge needed to develop multimedia applications.
As a result, this year's graduates are a diverse bunch, coming from many different disciplines - from fine art to biochemistry, film production to philosophy - and this diversity is reflected in the final group projects. While some explore contemporary social and political issues, others are more narrative based or artistically driven.
Trying to describe these projects using flat text is rather like teaching swimming on dry land. Most are a combination of digital video, audio, moving and still images - and text. Some are screen-based, others have used installations to great effect - the Body project explores the current interface between biology and technology, using the body as the site of this investigation. The interface is projected downwards on to a dissection trolley, inviting the user to probe the human body.
Another project, d8/01, also uses digital video, but in a different way. It is an interactive video documentary which attempts to capture a sense of the Liberties/Coombe area of Dublin as it is today.
People, places and events are portrayed through a series of digital videos adding up to a highly entertaining snapshot of one of Dublin's oldest communities.
Aimed at a completely different audience, Go Green with Curly Wurldly is an environmental education piece designed for Irish primary school children aged between eight and 11. They are invited to "go green" with "Curly Wurldly" - the curlew who likes to travel - by choosing from an extensive range of environmental issues in countries throughout the world. These issues are related to similar or "connected" issues in Ireland. According to the team, "this serves to globalise local issues - as well as localising global issues - in a bid to bring environmentalism to a specific audience".
Each section is a tour of information, games and activities that can be navigated in both a linear and random fashion. It is hoped that this can be distributed on CD-ROM to schools.
Other projects on show in the gallery, explore more abstract ideas, such as the human perception of space and time, and the notion of indeterminacy .
For anyone interested in seeing how multimedia tools can best be exploited, this exhibition is worth a visit, the students' skills are various and encompass the technical, as well as the artistic and creative.
Nina Bresnihan is a lecturer in TCD's computer science department and is the course administrator of the MSc in multimedia.
The graduate show continues at the Douglas Hyde Gallery until October 6th.