Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!mikel
From: mikel@Apple.COM (Mikel Evins)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: NeXT hypercard analogues (also, don't shun UNIX)
Keywords: hypercard UNIX shell
Message-ID: <46644@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 16 Nov 90 18:42:30 GMT
References: <1990Nov9.184957.14763@watdragon.waterloo.edu> <5672@lanl.gov> <16441@csli.Stanford.EDU>
Organization: Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino, CA
Lines: 26

In article <16441@csli.Stanford.EDU> poser@csli.stanford.edu (Bill Poser) writes:
>I think that this presents another example of the utility of the
>capabilities that come with UNIX, as pointed out by another poster.

I don't dispute the utility of UNIX, and I'm certainly enjoying all the
useful tools that come with the NeXT cube. However, I also like HyperCard
and its clones. They make it real easy to knock together a working
tool that has an arbitrary bitmap (or in some cases vector graphic)
as its interface. It's sort of like having a paint program that has
a simple shell language built into it. I still think that, when you
come right down to it, Xerox Notecards is whizzier and more powerful,
but I like having this thing that I can use to whip up some set of
graphical things that execute commands, and that I can use instantly,
as soon as the drawing is done.
  With that in mind, I called up Thoughful Software and asked about
HyperCube. They said that they think it'll ship in March, that they plan
to charge under $500, and that they plan to support all the
behavior of Apple's HyperCard 2.0 and then some. Extensions that
they plan to support are the full 32-bit color model of the color
machines and  interfaces to the Sound and Music Kits. They also plan
to support something equivalent to XCMDs and XFCNs for extending the
capabilities of the product. We discussed typed linking a la Notecards,
and the rep said that they had no specific plans, but that typed links
were being considered.
  I'll be real interested to see this product; if it looks good, I'll
probably buy a copy.