Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!ncar!ico!ism780c!haddock!suitti
From: suitti@haddock.ima.isc.com (Stephen Uitti)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Life After Death of MacPaint
Message-ID: <12784@haddock.ima.isc.com>
Date: 25 Apr 89 18:31:27 GMT
References: <23492@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> <9958@claris.com>
Reply-To: suitti@haddock.ima.isc.com (Stephen Uitti)
Organization: Interactive Systems, Boston
Lines: 54

>> GOOD NEWS:  MacPaint isn't dead, it's just taking on a new form.
>> BAD NEWS:   Swiss-Army-Knife software that tries to be all things to all
>>             people is often hard to use and confusing for the beginner.
>>             MacPaint 2.0 is harder for little kids to use than the original
>>             version.  The original, elegant MacPaint is, in a sense,
>>             already dead.

Isn't the paint stuff in Hypercard essentially MacPaint, with few or
no frills?  Sure, Hypercard is the BeAllAndEndAllOfSwissArmyKnife
software, and i didn't know how to get it to do painting right away, but...

>> FIX:        All complicated applications should have a "beginner mode" with
>>             fewer accessible features.  We've already seen this in some
>>             applications.

uSoft Word 3.xx has "short menus".  I'm not sure if this is the
kind of thing you are talking about.  I find that they don't
really help.  I don't learn anything new if i don't see the
entries & play.

>For a look at what Yogen's talking about, take a look at the graphics module
>of AppleWorks GS.  It's both a paint program and a draw program.  At the
>same time, not in separate layers, not with bitmap "objects".  The integration
>isn't seamless, but it closer than any program on the Mac.  It's also a 
>first attempt at a program of its kind.

I have Canvas 2.0.  It does paint & draw.  It does bitmap
objects.  It is seemless in that any tool that could possibly be
used for both a draw object and a paint object can be used for
either.  Objects can be converted.  Bitmaps can be of various
resolutions, even in the same document.  Canvas gives the user
plenty of control over everything.  I don't see how you'd do
that without "bitmap objects".  I'd have to look at it.

Canvas has layers, but unlike SuperPaint 1.x (i haven't played
with the new one enough), the layers are just layers - a real
handy extension.  One layer can be grayed while you trace over it
in another layer, etc.  Canvas has infinite options, infinite
capability.  It doesn't take long to do simple things.  It takes
awhile (and you may want to get hints from the manuals) to do
more complex things.  If i thought a paint/draw program should be
able to do something, Canvas has been able to do it.  Canvas is
big, and having at least 2 MB of RAM in your box helps alot.

Canvas, uSoft Word, Hypercard, and other big programs are not for
everyone.  It seems that there should be a market for tiny
programs, such as the original MacPaint, especially if they can
be sold for real cheap.  There are probably people out there who
would buy MacPaint for $15, (or even a small color version, such
as a Kiddie Color Paint that didn't require the user to set the
screen to 4 bit color...), who don't need or want the $300
SwissArmy version.

Stephen.