Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!uunet!ingr!infonode!lowersbp
From: lowersbp@infonode.ingr.com (Ben P Lowers)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hypercard
Subject: Re: PC HyperCard clones
Message-ID: <1990Sep12.143927.7489@infonode.ingr.com>
Date: 12 Sep 90 14:39:27 GMT
Organization: Intergraph Corp. Huntsville, AL
Lines: 37

I have used PLUS on the Macintosh for a couple of months.  It IS
essentially HyperCard 1.2.5 plus some stuff, minus some speed.  We
specifically needed it for putting gray scales in the card window so
that we could put buttons on top of them...  It has a funny tool
pallette/message box thingamujig, but it does offer all kinds of
styled fields and graphics objects like polygons.  And it beats the
pants off of SuperCard with regards to stack development turnaround
time.  Also, there are a lot of authoring-related things that you CAN'T
do in SuperCard, that you CAN do in PLUS, and even HyperCard, such as

  choose the brush tool
  domenu "Paste" (some PICT or paint graphic was on the Clipboard)
  choose the browse tool

I couldn't do that in SuperCard.  But with PLUS, if the Clipboard has
a color or gray scale PICT in it - BOOM! You've got an awesome card
window, all done for the user at the scripting level.

I have also seen a Beta of PLUS for Windows 3.0.  It is essentially
the Mac version ON A PC.  I saw it on a 16MHz XT, and it didn't fly,
It was a bit slower than Hypercard 1.0 on a Macintosh Plus.  But the
key is, it brings just about ALL of that capibility to the PC!  But
NO XCMDs and NO XFCNs.  Maybe the announced Slot Developer's Toolkit
will solve all of the problems with externals.  It doesn't sound near
as bad as the reports we getting about how BAD ToolBook is.  For you
own Beta, you can apply with:

Spinnaker Software
Cambridge, MA
(617) 494-1200

Good luck, and anyway, running HyperCard 2.0 or PLUS on a Macintosh
is a lot less grief...
--
Ben Lowers                      | Intergraph Corp.
  lowersbp@ingr.com    or       | Huntsville,AL  35894-0001
  uunet!ingr!b23b!big!ben       | (205) 730-8599