HYBRID INFORMATION OPTIONS

摘要

The advantage of a CD: hundreds of megabytes of data, accessed quickly and conveniently. Delivery is customised according to the type of data; access can be controlled. The problem: the information is fixed and can't update itself. The advantage of the Internet: as much information as you can shake a stick at, updated whenever needed. The disadvantage: it's a long way away from the user, and getting it is susceptible to connect charges and network failures. The solution: combine the two. Hybrids of disc-based and online searching and retrieval are a common feature now amongst vendors of large quantities of data that is prone to change. The precise roles played by the two halves of the equation in the process of getting data to the end-user vary from product to product, and here we look at some of the options for tying the two together.