In article: <Pine.SOL.3.91.950209132729.13280G-100000@nova>  Michael Tuttle
<[log in to unmask]>
writes:
 
> Should you try and give the net surfer as true to life experience when
> they tour your gallery? .....
 
I would say no, since one of the most common fears people have about
"virtual museums" is that they will come to replace the real thing.
Personally I find this extremely unlikely, (as an analogy, people
who watch travel shows on TV are, if anything, MORE
likely to go on  a real holiday, for example) but by making the
electronic version a completely different kind of experience you
emphasize the fact that it is an addition to, rather than a
replacement of, a real museum.
 
> Should you present an abstract representation of the gallery, giving more
> then what was presented in the real gallery (due to things like space and
> budget restriction?
 
Yes... Anything else would be a waste of the potential this
technology offers to increase access, improve educational impact and
provide creative entertainment (I resist words like "infotainment"
deliberately).
 
Just out of interest, does anyone know of any REALLY virtual museums
actually up and running? By this I mean it must be possible to move
through a simulated 3-dimensional space, drawn and rendered in real
time, with or without the aid of the VR Helmet etc. Ideally there
should also be some virtual exhibits there too!
 
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 Tony Gill                              e-mail: [log in to unmask]
 Technical Outreach Manager
 Museum Documentation Association
 Lincoln House, 347 Cherry Hinton Road,     Tel:    +44 1223 242848
 Cambridge CB1 4DH, UK                      Fax:    +44 1223 213575
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