Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!decwrl!labrea!agate!bionet!apple!dan
From: dan@Apple.COM (Dan Allen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hypercard
Subject: Re: Look out Hypercard, its Supercard!
Message-ID: <22007@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 11 Dec 88 00:35:51 GMT
References: <16310014@hpsmtc1.HP.COM> <21793@apple.Apple.COM> <12322@cup.portal.com> <12351@cup.portal.com>
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 76

In article <12351@cup.portal.com> Lou@cup.portal.com (William Joseph Marriott) writes:
>I can remember what it was like working with the old Macs and the
>software of the time. Remember the care-free days of three data
>formats (MacWrite, MacPaint, PICT)? Programs that were less than 150K?
Yes, those were great days.  I would like programs to be smaller.  But
would you be willing to not have a HyperCard, not have Excel?  not have
Word 4.0?

>Boot a typical Macintosh and you'll see a testament to the (lack of)
>real developments in Macintosh system software popping up in a row
>across the bottom of the screen: Suitcase, QuicKeys, Laser"Quotes",
>SuperLaserSpool, Tops... all are third-party hacks at system software

Agreed.  Apple really should fix more of these problems, because many of
these components and INITs are constantly breaking with different system
software revs...

>HyperCard _is_ a truly pioneering product that is changing people's
>lives... the same issue of MacWEEK that reported SuperCard also has a
>story about HyperCard being used in museums. But will Apple want to
>take HyperCard much farther? If third-parties are willing to bear the
>expense of enhancing HyperCard, why bother?

This is an interesting point.  Apple wants to sell computers, and Apple
wants to see interesting software around that will help sell the
computers.  Officially Apple likes to think it is a hardware company,
not a software company.

However, I work in software at Apple where there are hundreds of people
developing software to help sell our machines.  Don't let anybody kid
you:  Apple is a software company as well, regardless of what Apple
says.

Now Apple also wants to keep third parties happy.  That's why they
unbundled MacWrite and MacPaint.  There is a group of us at Apple (known
as the HyperCard engineers) that agree with your critique of Apple
creating standards for passing formatting information around.  We like
to think that HyperCard stacks are a great format that ALL Mac owners
have and can use.  We hope that HyperCard will NEVER BE UNBUNDLED,
because then the standard will go away, and you will have lots of
different formats around...

And HyperCard's already rich environment (text, sound, and bitmapped
graphics) will be improved over time.  The obvious improvements and
things wanted by many of the readers of this net are: object graphics,
large card support, color, styled text, etc.  Now just so everyone will
hear my manifesto once more...

WE WANT TO MAKE HYPERCARD GREAT.  We want it to be robust and bug free.
We want all of these great features just like everybody else.  And WE
ARE WORKING ON MANY GREAT NEW FEATURES.  Unfortunately, we are not
allowed to comment on the exact nature of these new features, but we are
doing mainline feature enhacements that are what many many people have
asked for.  We are very confident that everyone will be very pleased
with these new features.  We have a list over 70 pages long of features
people want.  We will do those that we can and release a new version.
We'll then do more and release yet another version.  (We figure you do
not want to wait years for just one new version...)

We welcome competition but we are going to continue to improve HyperCard
dramatically and in new ways.  Most people on the net think we can just
add color and then everything works great.  But they fail to think of
the implications: what if I create a color stack and then pass it to a
friend?  Many colors would end up being black or white, with dramatic
problems with visual interpretation.  Or what if cards could be big?
How would the majority with small screens work with a small card?  There
are solutions to these problems, but the features that people ask for
have many ramifications that are not usually entertained.  Remember, 95%
of the HyperCard users of the world have a 1 MB machine, (Mac Plus or
Mac SE) with a 20 MB hard disk.  No color.  No big screens.  No 68020.
No extra RAM.  No nothing.  HyperCard still has to work for them,
because they are The Rest of Us.

Dan Allen
Apple Computer
End of Soapbox