Book excerpt: Readings in Multimedia Computing and Networking captures the broad areas of research and developments in this burgeoning field, distills the key findings, and makes them accessible to professionals, researchers, and students alike. For the first time, the most influential and innovative papers on these topics are presented in a cohesive form, giving shape to the diverse area of multimedia computing. The seminal moments are recorded by a dozen visionaries in the field and each contributing editor provides a context for their area of research by way of a thoughtful, focused chapter introduction. The volume editors, Kevin Jeffay and HongJiang Zhang, offer further incisive interpretations of past and present developments in this area, including those within media and content processing, operating systems, and networking support for multimedia. This book will provide you with a sound understanding of the theoretical and practical issues at work in the field's continuing evolution.* Offers an in-depth look at the technical challenges in multimedia and provides real and potential solutions that promise to expand the role of multimedia in business, entertainment, and education.* Examines in Part One issues at the heart of multimedia processes: the means by which multimedia data are coded, compressed, indexed, retrieved, and otherwise manipulated.* Examines in Part Two the accommodation of these processes by storage systems, operating systems, network protocols, and applications.* Written by leading researchers, the introductions give shape to a field that is continually defining itself and place the key research findings in context to those who need to understand the state-of-the art developments.