Szeged in an electronic bookcase!
In the Big eBook of Szeged, that is the latest version of the Szeged-DVD, a virtual tourist can take off the "eshelves" eight 3D ebooks giving an exciting insight into the beauties of the city through thousands of pages, as a weekend program. By leafing through the realistic-looking pages without a need for a special 3D-screen, users can view numerous photos, animations and videos, for the sake of convenience choosing a native language narrator depending on the language section they are currently in. In addition to the Hungarian language, the publication can be read and listened to in English, German and French. Numerous musical elements and other sound effects add colour to the ebooks, either as a background to them, or as an integral part of their content.
It would be difficult to list the titles of all the films, but some of them are worthy of special mention.
The module entitled "Walks in the City" invites for a virtual walk in several districts of the city, while offering for viewing short films related to the topics being covered: the Anna Bath (a music compilation about one of the most beautiful buildings of the city, and the cosy pools of the even through European eyes unparalleled complex), the Ornamented Palace (secrets of the Ferenc Móra Museum), The Messenger of Golgotha (commemorating Attila József, to whom "Herr Collage Chancellor" showed the outside of the door in Szeged), Poetic Images (poems from Szeged by poets from Szeged about locations in Szeged).
The ebook of "Churches" presents nearly 30 churches in Szeged, in the case of some of them the background music of the compilation rich in pictures is a recording of a concert performed on its own organ. The short film entitled "The Church of Living Stones" has been made of one of the oldest still functioning churches in Szeged, remembering the Turkish times, and commemorating the inventiveness of the Franciscan monks and the cult of Mary as well.
The collection of photos and postcards covering the almost 1000-year history of the city - the "Old Photos of Szeged" - makes the heart of the people of Szeged beat faster. It can be an interesting activity for tourists to compare the old face of the city with the current one, the buildings before the flood of 1879 with the palaces of the city rebuilt in the 1880s, determining the image of the city to this day.
The Tisza is the main street of Szeged. At least according to the ebook entitled "The Tisza", because as it turns out from the following list of titles, the river is intertwined with the history of the city by a thousand threads: The City Reclaimed From the Water (a film by Attila Kozó about the catastrophe of 1879), an amateur recording by István Wirth about the flood of 1970, the construction of Bertalan Bridge, mayflies on the river, and the Ópusztaszer excavations (The Chronicle of Living Stones, or the National Memorial Park, as we will never see), and Anglers for the Tisza. Other topics covered in connection with the Tisza include: Musical Instrument Makers - Music Makers (musical instrument making in Szeged in the past), the history of Pick salami, and I Stopped Time (the village museum of Tápé).
The ebook compilation on the Zoo includes a short film covering five continents, accompanied by music from five continents, as well as an interesting animation entitled Metamorphosis at the Zoo, and during our virtual walk in the Botanical Garden we can leaf through four seasons, accompanied by music for the four seasons.
And if all that is not enough, the ebook entitled The Lights of Szeged invites for an evening walk residents and visitors alike in the city colourful during the day and shining in the evening.
Although the virtual cruise on the Tisza included in the ebook should be experienced in reality as well, the aerial photos taken during sightseeing flights and hot air balloon rides over the city are also worth seeing. As the latter offer a real 3D experience, because they are double photos taken at slightly different angles, so called stereograms.
There are a lot of other things to discover on the shelves of the ebookcase serving as a menu for the ebooks. For example, a dozen free and freely distributable screen savers enhance the 3D virtuality of the publication. Some topics are covered in the form of photos arranged in special galleries: The most beautiful buildings in Szeged, Sculptures in Szeged, Aerial Photos, The Lights of Szeged, Old Photos, Flower-covered Szeged, The Values of Szeged, Waters in Szeged, Programs in Szeged, Honorary Citizens, Catering and Accommodation. By clicking on the framed photo of Albert Szent-Györgyi on one of the shelves, the awarding of the Nobel Prize can be seen. By clicking on the TV set a Szeged-intro starts with the for the people of Szeged very kind voice of Kati Dobos. The virtual CD player on the other side "tells" the history of Szeged in the language of music, in a modern adaptation. The globe brings up a map of Szeged, and the "boxes" of some useful utility programs and a pair of the famous slippers of Szeged can be found at the bottom.
The installation of the program requires patience, but the 4 GB of multimedia content and the hours of program in 4 languages make up for all the wait.
