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From: thom@dewey.soe.berkeley.edu (Thom Gillespie)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: "Innovative software like Hypercard" [sic]
Keywords: Hypercard useless software white elephant
Message-ID: <37521@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: 12 Jul 90 00:35:55 GMT
References: <77516@aerospace.AERO.ORG> <1990Jul7.050240.21181@csrd.uiuc.edu> <13997@unix.SRI.COM> <3890@newton.physics.purdue.edu>
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Reply-To: thom@dewey.soe.berkeley.edu.UUCP (Thom Gillespie)
Organization: School of Education, UC-Berkeley
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In article <3890@newton.physics.purdue.edu> sho@maxwell.physics.purdue.edu (Sho Kuwamoto) writes:

>>On the other hand, HyperCard is quite a departure from traditional
>>applications.  It's really neat how everything is linked together.
>>It's kind of like the original 1984 Mac--this cool new toy with which
>>to waste time, but not powerful enough (yet) to be a real tool.  
>[...]
>
>I tend to disagree.  I don't use Hypercard much, but it's not for lack
>of memory.  I have 5M and don't use it.  I suspect that if I had a
>IIfx with Virtual that I still wouldn't be using it.
>
>
>I also think HyperCard is a neat thing, but it just doesn't pan out
>for the average user... It's overly complicated for doing "simple" things
>use a spreadsheet.  It's too hard to program anything elaborate.  My
>gut feeling is that even BASIC can be easier to program in for the
>novice user.  
>...  Still, I feel that HyperCard, as it stands, is
>next to useless when you get right down to it.  I've been complaining,
>but don't have any answers.  I'm not saying, "Apple should have done
>it *this* way."  I'm saying that HyperCard has a lot of promise, but
>it has a way to go before it allows the average joe to write even the
>most trivial of programs.  I remember John Sculley having said
>something to the effect of, "now I can finally program a computer."
>Uh, yeah.
>
>-Sho

So exactly what is an 'average' user? Why did thousands of applications spring
into the public domain after HyperCard was introduced. For example, In Berkeley
BMUG (Berk Mac User Group) has always had a lot of PD/shar material. Within a
year the HyperCard stacks were out numbering everything they had ... John
Sculley sure was doing a lot of programming.

To me an 'average' person thinks (correctly) that a 'pointer' is a dog with
white fur and black spots from Germany. This sort of person also has lot's of
'real' world knowledge and skill that they'd like to impart, so they use
HyperCard which allows the 'domain expert' to be in charge, not the hacker

I'm working on some computer assisted instruction material in Hebrew studies.
We need something quick , which can be modified by the domain expert (not me)
and which can grow quickly in directions never anticipated. We didn't pick C++
for this job. There are similar projects at Berkeley in Chinese & Japanese and
I'd imagine others. The usual response it that it will later be converted to a
real language ... my guess is no, 'real' languages aren't very friendly or
flexible. HyperCard will expand into SuperCard & ToolBook and the genie will
not fit back into the bottle. Paul Heckel predicted this in his book "The
Elements of Friendly Software Design" where he pointed out that in the 'old'
days of film only trained engineers made movies -- they were pretty bad. At a
certain point you got the artists like Orson Wells and Fellini and film gets
interesting. HyperCard is doing the same to the medium of computers -- making
it more interesting. The engineers will fade into the background and provide
support but they will also be kept away from the 'average' user  -- as should
be.

Just an average Joe 
--Thom Gillespie