Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!know!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!wuarchive!psuvax1!psuvm!dn5
From: DN5@psuvm.psu.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hypercard
Subject: Re: Ways to beat the bad guys
Message-ID: <90269.111300DN5@psuvm.psu.edu>
Date: 26 Sep 90 15:13:00 GMT
References: <1990Sep26.035004.13530@hayes.fai.alaska.edu>
Organization: Penn State University
Lines: 47

In article <1990Sep26.035004.13530@hayes.fai.alaska.edu>,
ftdkl@acad3.fai.alaska.edu (LaSota Daniel K) says:
>
>Well the news of the Claris thing hasn't really hit the average Mac
>person yet.  I know a lot of kids and teachers in schools throughout
>Alaska who will be very dissapointed when they learn that they might
>have to pay for a fully working version program of HyperCard.
>
>This particular subset of HyperCard users/doers is really
>getting heavily involved with HyperCard and scripting.  There is
>a special keen interest in writing interactive front ends for
>laserDisks.  A few groups have embarked upon the path of creating their
>own laserDisks (with of course their own front ends made in HyperCard).
>
>Dan LaSota
>FTDKL%ALASKA.BITNET@CORNELLC.cit.cornell.edu  (best)
>ftdkl@acad3.fai.alaska.edu                    (if you must)

Well, I don't know about Alaska, but I am a Computer-Based Education
developer for Penn State, and I have seen the power of HyperCard in
the hands of teachers.  This works because they can take their stack
and go anywhere on campus (in the Mac labs) to work on it.

Also, the fact that the complete developement system comes with each
and every Mac gives the opportunity to every faculty member to become
a developer.  We at CBEL--Teaching & Leaning Technologies try to help
our faculty members to program for themselves.  This will become
much more difficult if they have to buy it for themselves.

Much of the lure of the Macintosh has been because of HyperCard.  If
a complete (and by this I mean HyperCard/Home/Help Stacks) version isn't
included with each system, there will be less interest in the Mac.

And please don't tell me that $75 or so per developer is a small price.
I already know this, however it doesn't change the fact that many
people who would become developers when the price is $0 won't become
so when the price is higher.  Just try to get a small purchace past
the various committies whose job it is to say NO to such requests!

I feel that Toolbook for the IBM will fail for this reason, also.
A bundled application has large advantages both for the uses and
the sellers.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
D. Jay Newman                !  All syllogisms have three parts,
dn5@psuvm.psu.edu            !  therefore this is not a syllogism.
CBEL--Teaching and Learning Technologies Group