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Letter-Writing Campaign in High Gear
As News of HyperCard's Cancellation Spreads

As I reported last week (see article below), numerous informed sources have reported that Apple has stopped all work on HyperCard 3.0. HyperCard users began a letter-writing campaign to Steve Jobs last week, and this week it shifted into high gear as word spread.
Jacque Gay reports that she has received over 1,500 hits at her Save HyperCard page, and numerous other HyperCard sites have posted messages about this situation, including overseas sites such as this one in Japan. Several Mac news sites have also posted articles, such as this one at Tidbits.
Many letter-writers have posted duplicates of their letters to Steve Jobs on the HyperCard newsgroup and HyperCard mailing list.
Several people have received brief replies from Steve Jobs. This one is typical: "Rumors are wrong. Hypercard is alive and well. -- Steve Jobs". Unfortunately, Steve Job's message of assurance apparently relates only to the current version of HyperCard, which is indeed still being sold and supported by Apple and therefore is "alive and well." Work on the next version of HyperCard -- HyperCard 3.0 -- has completely stopped. All Apple staffers who were working on it have been reassigned to other projects, and an Apple manager has told them that HyperCard 3.0 has been cancelled.
Some speculate that the decision to cancel HyperCard 3.0 was not made by Steve Jobs, but was made made at a lower level, perhaps by Apple Vice President of Product Marketing Phil Schiller.
Here's how you can help.

1) Send a letter to Steve Jobs (see article below for his address and more info). Tell him how you use HyperCard and encourage him to continue development of HyperCard 3.0.

2) Encourage every HyperCard user you know to send a letter also.

3) Write to Mac news sites and encourage them to stay on top of this story. Every news article on this subject will be read by thousands of people who might not otherwise know about this situation. Here are a few suggested sites:

a) MacOSRumors -- <feedback@macosrumors.com>

b) MacWeek -- <john_batteiger@macweek.com>
To comment on the "Mac the Knife" story -- <mac_the_knife@macweek.com>

c) MacCentral-- <news@maccentral.com>

d) Macintosh News Network-- <news@macnn.com>

e) MacInTouch -- <news@macintouch.com>

4) Remember that most HyperCard users don't routinely visit HyperCard web sites or HyperCard discussion groups, so we need to find other ways to get the message to them. Post messages to newsgroups that discuss education, multimedia, hobbies, Mac applications, and any other newsgroup you can think of which might be read by HyperCard users. You might want to include the URL of the Save HyperCard page <http://www.hyperactivesw.com/SaveHC.html>, along with Steve Job's mailing address (see article below).
Posted Nov. 8, 1998

Help Us Save HyperCard!

Although Steve Jobs says that HyperCard is "alive and well," the entire HyperCard team has been assigned to other duties. We must act now to save HyperCard!

HyperCard users were shocked and dismayed to learn this week that Apple management has done a complete turn-around and has halted development of HyperCard! Jacque Gay of HyperActive Software has learned from three separate sources that all work on HyperCard has ceased. She's set up a Save HyperCard page at her site and has been organizing a mail campaign to let Steve Jobs at Apple know how we feel.
Although users have often been displeased with the relatively slow pace of HyperCard updates, HyperCard 2.4 was released this spring and it had been well-known that HyperCard 3.0 was in the works. Informed sources had reported that it would be released simultaneously with QuickTime Interactive (QTi), although no one seemed to know exactly when that would be. Unfortunately, HyperCard engineers apparently were reassigned earlier this year to work on QuickTime development. At first some hoped this might just be a temporary situation, but it now appears that Apple does not intend to resume work on HyperCard.
There are different theories on why Apple has made this decision. Some think that Phil Schiller, a vice president at Apple who came to Apple from Macromedia, doesn't want to alienate an important developer like Macromedia by producing a product (HyperCard 3.0) that would compete with Macromedia Director. [See the MacWeek "Mac the Knife" article which alludes to this.] Others think that Apple is just under the mistaken impression that not many people use HyperCard anymore and so there won't be a good market for HyperCard 3.0.
A few days after the "Save HyperCard" mailings began, Steve Jobs told at least one person that "the rumors are wrong; HyperCard is alive and well." Unfortunately this seems to be inaccurate. Some have wondered if perhaps the decision to halt HyperCard was made at a lower level of the company and Jobs might not even have been aware of it. He is, after all, dealing with many high-profile projects
Jacque Gay says, "I have confirmation from three different sources that HyperCard is NOT alive and well. As surprising as it may seem to us devotees, I don't think Jobs knew this until we started to write to him about it. The truth is, the entire HC team at Apple has been disbanded; there is no HyperCard team right now. No one is working on the project. HyperCard may be alive and well, but only as version 2.4.1. Unless we can intervene and change things, there will be no HyperCard 3.0. There can't be, not until some engineers are re-assigned to work on it."
Several internet news sites have begun to pick up this story, such as this article at MacCentral.
At first people were asked to send e-mails to Steve Jobs, but Jobs has has apparently received a large number of e-mails and has requested that his e-mail address not be posted. Our objective is to influence him, not to get him ticked off, so we are honoring his request and are asking that people write to him by regular mail instead. Please send your letters to:

Steve Jobs
Office of the CEO
Apple Computer, Inc.
M/S 301-CEO
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014

You might want to print "Re: HyperCard" on the envelope to make sure that it gets sorted into his stack of HyperCard letters.
I'm not going to repeat everything that Jacque says at her site. Instead I'm going to ask that you just go to her Save HyperCard page right now. Then sit down and write a thoughful, well-reasoned letter to Steve Jobs. Explain to him how you / your company / your school use HyperCard. Tell him that you want development to continue so you can buy HyperCard 3.0 when it's ready.
Remember that this will be a business decision. Flames will hurt us, not help us.
After you've mailed your letter, here are other things you can do:

1) Contact all your friends and business associates who use HyperCard. Refer them to the Save HyperCard page and ask them to write letters, too.

2) Write to your favorite Mac news sites and tell them you want them to stay on top of this story.

3) Many HyperCard users don't belong to HyperCard discussion groups or visit HyperCard web sites, so we need to reach out to them. Post messages about this at newsgroups and discussion groups that are concerned with computers, multimedia, education, etc.

There may still be time to save HyperCard, but only if all of us act NOW!
Posted Nov. 1, 1998

SuperCard 3.5 Available

IncWell (the new owner of SuperCard) has announced that SuperCard 3.5 is now available as an electronic download. The CD will ship within 3-5 weeks.
Posted Oct. 8, 1998

"Vaccine" Updated

Vaccine 4.2, by Bill Swagerty, is now available. Vaccine finds and eliminates script-based HyperCard viruses (such as the "merryxmas" virus) which spread themselves by altering the scripts of other stacks they come in contact with. Among the latest improvements is the ability to eliminate the new "Blink" virus. You can download it at Jacque Gay's HyperCard Virus Compendium site.
Posted September 4, 1998

"Blink" Virus

A new HyperCard virus has appeared. <sigh> You can read about it at Jacque Gay's HyperCard Virus Compendium, but here's a condensed version of her description: "Before January 1, 1999, the virus simply spreads [from stack to stack]. After that date, infected stacks will "blink" once every second as the card window is hidden and then reshown repeatedly. The virus does not attempt to do any damage, and is mainly a nuisance ... Innoculation is simple..."
In addition to the innoculation technique Jacque describes at her site, you can also use the latest version of Vaccine (see article above) to eliminate this virus.
Posted September 4, 1998

Carbon to Support HC XCMDs

I received a letter from a reader who said, "Just to put to ease people's fears about XCMDs, on page 58 of the Carbon Paper PDF (dated 5/9/98) it states that 'Carbon will fully support HyperCard XCommands. Note that the functions in this programming interface are not part of Mac OS system software -- they are implemented in the HyperCard application.' "
Carbon represents the core set of programming interfaces developers can use to build Mac OS X (System 10, scheduled for release sometime in '99) applications that can also be deployed on Mac OS 8.
Posted September 4, 1998

"Whatever Happened to HyperCard 3.0?"

In a MacCentral article titled "Whatever Happened to HyperCard 3.0?", Steve Bannerman (Apple's senior QuickTime product manager) was asked about HyperCard 3.0 (which will reportedly be an authoring tool for QuickTime Interactive). This was his response:
"There is little we can say publicly about our future directions for QuickTime and HyperCard. On one positive note, many of the features of QTi were actually pulled FORWARD into QT 3. This is the basis for the 'wired sprites' functionality on QT3. As you know, we also just released a new version of HyperCard (now at 2.4.1). This is an example of how HC aligned with QT. The first priorities for QT are the things we discussed, but we still have lots of interesting things on the drawing board."
Posted September 4, 1998

Macworld Reviews HyperCard 2.4

The September issue of Macworld magazine has a review of HyperCard 2.4. The review praises HyperCard's ease of use and support for QuickTime 3.0, but is critical of its lack of a Windows player and mediocre support for color. But it concludes by saying, "... stay tuned -- the HyperCard team is still hard at work."
Posted September 4, 1998

HyperCard 2.4.1 Available

HyperCard 2.4.1 is now available. This update fixes the bug in version 2.4 which occured on drives with HFS+ (see article below).
A boxed version of HC 2.4.1 with manuals and bundled software including QuickTime 3.0 is available at the The Apple Store for $99.
If you own HyperCard 2.3 or later (the full version, not the Player), you can update it to 2.4.1 by downloading the free 2.4.1 updater. (If you own a version earlier than 2.3, there is no upgrade path and the updater won't work. You'll need to purchase the boxed version.)
The free HyperCard 2.4.1 Player is also available for download.
Posted July 25, 1998

HyperCard Bug With HFS+

An optional new file format called HFS+ (Hierarchical File System Plus) was introduced in Mac OS 8.1. This new file format supports file sizes as small as 0.5 K, which lets users realize more disk space. Unfortunately, when HFS+ is used on disks larger than 2 G in size, it apparently confuses HyperCard and can cause error messages when trying to create or compact stacks. A HyperCard 2.4.1 update will be issued soon which will correct this problem.
Posted July 19, 1998

HyperTalk QuickRef Stack

Jeanne DeVoto, co-author of "HyperTalk 2.2: The Book", recently posted the latest version of her free HyperTalk QuickRef stack. She says, "The HyperTalk Reference stack that comes with HyperCard is very complete. But sometimes it's too much. Too slow, too large, too hard to handle. Sometimes all you want is a quick reminder of a command's syntax. The HyperTalk QuickRef is a stack I put together for times I just want syntax and a quick description of a language element, in a small window that fits into the corner of the screen. There's a card for each command, function, property, message, and keyword in HyperCard 2.4."
Posted July 1, 1998

HyperCard Success Stories

Jacque Gay has collected a great series of HyperCard Success Stories at her HyperActive Software site. You can read real-world examples of how others have used HyperCard and you can submit your own success story, too.
June 20, 1998

Apple Posts Revised QuickTime License

A Macweek article says that Apple posted a new QuickTime licensing agreement on it's web site on June 18th . The new terms for distributing QuickTime with third-party products fix a number of problems with the original agreement, which was revised after strong objections from developers. The new QuickTime 3.0 software distribution agreement can be found here.
June 20, 1998

HyperCard 3.0 is Coming,
But Probably Not This Fall

A member of Apple's HyperCard team has previously said that HyperCard 3.0 will be released simultaneously with QuickTime Interactive. Recently there have been reports that the next major update to QuickTime will occur this fall. Does that mean that HyperCard 3.0 will be released this fall? Here's what an Apple QuickTime engineer said a few days ago on the HyperCard mailing list:
"Although we are still working on what will go into the next release [of QuickTime], the major new feature will be the QuickTime Streaming solution that Peter was demoing. It is unlikely that another major feature will make it into the Fall release, which will probably be a "dot" release (something like QuickTime 3.1)."
In other words, it sounds as though QuickTime Interactive is further down the road and we'll have to wait a little longer for HyperCard 3.0.
May 18, 1998

"Get QuickTime Pro" Controversy with HC 2.4

As I mentioned last week, some users are annoyed that HyperCard 2.4 will play the "Get QuickTime Pro" movie (and copy that movie to your Desktop) every time HyperCard is launched if you are using the free version of QuickTime 3. Kevin Calhoun at Apple responded recently on the HyperCard Mailing List to some of these concerns.
Kevin said, "Regarding the "Get QuickTime Pro" movie -- yes, we were asked to make certain the full development version of HyperCard 2.4 complies with the licensing terms for distributing QuickTime 3 for free. In brief, HyperCard 2.4 makes a call to QuickTime (CheckQuickTimeRegistration, new with QuickTime 3.0), and in responding to this call QuickTime does whatever it thinks a "registration check" requires. The current version of QuickTime, QuickTime 3.0, copies the "Get QuickTime Pro" movie to the desktop if you're not registered for QuickTime Pro. Prior versions of QuickTime do nothing. I can imagine subsequent versions that do other things that are more or less appealing. It's likely that user response to the current offering will influence future versions.
"Note that the HyperCard Player does not make this call and therefore does not comply with the licensing terms for QuickTime distribution. By extension, neither will standalone applications created with HyperCard 2.4. However, any version of HyperCard 2.4, including the version that's embedded within standalones, will make this call if a 'QCHK' resource with id 128 is present in the application's resource file. You can add this resource if you want your standalones to comply with the QuickTime 3 licensing terms.
In other words, Kevin was emphasizing that only the full development version of HyperCard causes the "Get QuickTime Pro" movie to play, and then only if you are using the free version of QuickTime 3. People using the HyperCard Player or a standalone application made with HyperCard will not get that movie.

HyperCard 2.4 Available!

On Monday, April 27, Apple announced the availability of HyperCard 2.4. If you own version 2.3 or 2.3.5 , you can immediately upgrade to the new version free of charge by downloading the free updater. The retail version will be available for $99 from The Apple Store in late May. In other words, the only way to get 2.4 right now is via the updater.

New features include:

* an improved movie button task that allows you to open any QuickTime-readable file
* ability to open movie and some image files by dragging them onto the HyperCard application icon
* a new Link to URL button task and HyperTalk command for connecting to a web site
* ability to manipulate QuickTime movies using HyperTalk
* keyboard navigation of QuickTime VR movies
* ability to open a nearly unlimited number of files using HyperTalk
* enhanced script editor window for easier navigation
* improved Picture XCMD
* more script commands and new syntax

Problems fixed in this update:

* Fixed a problem that prevented HyperCard's floating windows from collapsing properly under Mac OS 8.0 or later.
* Fixed a problem that could cause the system to freeze when a very large stack was opened on a fast computer.
* Fixed a problem that occurred on PowerPC-based computers when a field contained more than 32K of text and style information.
* Fixed a problem that could cause the movie command callback ExtToStr to return bad data.
* Fixed a problem that prevented HyperCard from properly playing uncompressed 16-bit mono sounds.
* HyperCard now quits properly when a script window is active.
* The beta character in the Symbol font is no longer treated as a word delimiter in fields.

Glitches and concerns:

* Some users are annoyed that HyperCard 2.4 will copy a new "Get QuickTime Pro" movie to your Desktop (if you are using QuickTime 3.0) every time it is launched is unless QuickTime 3.0 Pro is installed. I've heard that you can prevent this by by keeping a copy of the "Get QuickTime Pro" movie on your Desktop rather than trashing it. I'll let you know if I hear anything further about this.

* Accord to a newsgroup post, if "HyperCard.old", made by the 2.3.5 updater, is still lying about in your HC folder, you will get an error message about "duplicate filename" with no indication of the offending name. Renaming "HyperCard.old" to anything but "HyperCard.old" seems to fix the problem. Kevin Calhoun, leader of Apple's HyperCard Team, posted this reply: "Thanks for pointing this out. We managed to document this potential problem in the HyperCard 2.4 Updater application, which most people don't run unless they want to update multiple copies of the HyperCard 2.3/2.3.5 app, but we failed to mention it in the HyperCard 2.4 Update Installer, which is what most people will run exclusively. We'll make a little adjustment soon. In the meantime, thanks again for getting the word out."

* This isn't a glitch but just a warning: the updater only works with versions 2.3 or later. If you have an older version of HyperCard, the only way to update to 2.4 is to purchase it when the retail version becomes available in late May.

Apple's press release (condensed):

CUPERTINO, Calif., April 27 -- Apple Computer, Inc. today announced the availability of HyperCard 2.4, the latest version of the Company's custom software development tool used to create interactive applications primarily for training and education. HyperCard 2.4 leverages QuickTime 3's rich array of video and audio capabilities, making it possible to easily add sophisticated multimedia experiences to existing or new applications. Building on the power of QuickTime 3, HyperCard 2.4 lets users work directly with more than 30 standard media file types.
HyperCard 2.4's new features include a suite of commands and properties, offering users who write HyperTalk scripts the ability to: establish links from HyperCard stacks to QuickTime movies, QuickTime VR scenes, and the World Wide Web; navigate quickly to predefined locations in a QuickTime movie by searching the movie's text track; resize, flip, mirror, rotate or skew a QuickTime movie in real time; loop a movie, providing continuous play for unattended applications like multimedia kiosks.
HyperCard 2.3.5 customers can immediately upgrade to the new version free of charge from the HyperCard website. HyperCard 2.4 will be available for U.S. $99 via The Apple Store, and through volume licensing and maintenance agreements at the end of May.
4/27/98

Transcript Available of Chat with
HyperCard Team Leader

I've posted a transcript of a recent AOL chat session with Kevin Calhoun, the long-time manager of HyperCard engineering at Apple. Kevin was the guest speaker at an AOL HyperCard Forum conference on Thursday, February 5.
2/7/98

"Movioke" Made With HyperCard

Jim Lambert of MediaSpan tells me that the new Mac/Win CD game Movioke was created using HyperCard. Movioke is a party game hosted by Dennis Miller in which you get to dub your voice into scenes from Hollywood movies. It's available at CompUSA, Computer City, Media Play, and other stores for about $26.
Jim says, "I prototyped Movioke in HyperCard. We intended the shipping version to be x-platform and to take advantage of QuickTime 3.0 which allows authoring QT under Windows. We began developing this in C++. Unfortunately, QT 3.0 did not ship in time for our Xmas '97 release. So, I finished Movioke in HC and used HC as the runtime for the Mac side. HyperCard is so wonderful; it worked beautifully! I used OMO, QT and MCI for the WIN side.
"We are continuing the C++/QT 3.0 development because we hope to release additional Movioke titles. Look for TVoke! in early '98! Of course, if HyperCard 3.0 / QuickTime Interactive turns out to be what we've all been dreaming of for the last few years, I'd much prefer to use that!"
Jim has been creating and programming new media for several years and won the Best Entertainment CD-ROM Producer Award at this year's Hollywood Film Festival. His two companies, MediaSpan and DigiToy, have produced a number of titles including a series of toy movie editors called CineMakers. Jim programmed The Salt of The Earth CD-ROM for Voyager some years ago using HyperCard. He also teach multimedia at the American Film Institute's Advanced Technology Program.
12/21/98

Grand Opening of Online Gallery
by HyperCard's Creator

Several months ago I reported that Bill Atkinson, the creator of HyperCard, had a web site devoted to his nature photography. This week I received this new press release:

"We are delighted to finally announce the grand opening of NatureImages, the on-line world wide web gallery of Bill Atkinson Photography. Bill has recently completed the monumental task of re-scanning all of his nature images with the latest high technology drum scanner, and the improvements in tonality, color quality and image resolution are amazing.
"Bill has also just presented over eighty new images in the gallery, mostly from his recent photographic expeditions to the Smoky Mountains, the Pacific Northwest, and New England in Autumn.
"Perhaps the most exciting news is that beautiful EverColor Luminage prints are now available of all of these images. We have been working closely with EverColor Fine Art in Worcester, Mass., and are delighted to be able to offer these excellent direct-digital photographs.
"Please come and visit our on-line gallery. We are certain that you will enjoy your visit.

Bill was a member of the original Macintosh team at Apple where he designed much of the user interface. In addition to HyperCard, he also created QuickDraw and MacPaint. After leaving Apple he helped to design personal communicators at General Magic. Bill says that his main goal in software design was to "make the computer a more humane tool to delight and empower creative people." Bill is now a full-time nature photographer as well as a husband and father.
(12/1/98)

HyperCard Tips and Tricks

Jacqueline Gay has added a new HyperCard Tips and Tricks area at her HyperActive Software site. It's a listing of tips, tricks, solutions, workarounds, and other nuggets of useful information submitted by readers and gathered from public sources like the HC newsgroup and mailing list. She says that the listing is an ongoing project that will grow as folks submit their favorite HyperCard tidbits. Her goal is to collect a large library of undocumented or little-known information for HyperCard developers.
Jacque invites everyone to visit HyperCard Tips and Tricks, and once you get an idea of the sort of info she's looking for, submit your own tip. All tips are fully credited to their authors, along with a link to the author's web site if they wish.
(12/1/98)

HC Mailing List Is Back on New Server

After many months of sporadic activity due to technical problems, the HyperCard Mailing List is back up and running at a new server location. (If you're not familiar with the mailing list, here's an explanation.)
Ro Nagey of Royal Software has contributed a great deal of time and effort into maintaining the list, but he has been frustrated by repeated problems with his internet service provider. Simon Hayes (who runs the HyperCard Resource Page) has graciously volunteered to take over the job of managing the list. Our thanks go out to both of them for their service to the HyperCard community!
New subscribers are welcome. Previous subscribers must resubscribe again. You can get more info and subscribe at http://www.glasscat.com/list/HCML.cgi.
We are concerned that some former subscribers may have drifted away due to the list's technical problems. If you know someone who may be in that category, please drop them a note and let them know that the list is back! :)
(11/17/97)

Colored Text and More with MegaFields!

Tired of black-and-white text and HyperCard's 30K limit per field? Check out Royal Software's latest product, MegaFields, an easy-to-use tool that gives your fields new capabilities:
* MegaFields lets you use colored text in your fields. Your stacks will have a new Color menuitem in the Style menu. Just select your text and choose the color from the menu. You can use standard Apple colors or access the Color Wheel if you'd prefer custom colors.
* You're no longer limited to 30K of text in a field. Each MegaField can store up to 4 MB!
* You can can justify text within a MegaField, as well as align it to the left, right and center.
* You can drag-and-drop between MegaFields, to and from the Finder, and even to and from other drag-and-drop applications.
A free demo version is available at Royal's web site.
(6/14/97)

Searchable Archive of AppleScript Discussions

A searchable archive of over 3,000 files from three AppleScript mailing lists (Apple-Implementors, Applescript-Users, and MACSCRPT) is now available.
(6/14/97)

Source for QuickTime News

Recently I found a great web site for the latest QuickTime news. Check out the Little QuickTime Page.
(6/10/97)

Transcript and Screen Shots of HyperCard Session at WWDC Available!

Mark Hanrek at The Information Workshop has prepared a comprehensive summary of the 1997 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference session entitled "Beyond QuickTime 3.0". This conference session was jam-packed with information regarding the upcoming release of HyperCard 3.0 and QuickTime Interactive. It included a presentation by the leader of Apple's HyperCard team, Kevin Calhoun.
Mark's summary will be much appreciated by folks who didn't have an opportunity to view the WebCast or who would like to study the session in detail. Thanks, Mark! :)
(6/7/97)

HC 3.0 to be Released Simultaneously With QuickTime Interactive

Kevin Calhoun, leader of Apple's HyperCard team, recently posted the following message to the HyperCard newsgroup:
"HyperCard 3.0 will be ready when QTi is ready. QTi and HyperCard 3.0 will be released simultaneously, within six to nine months after QuickTime 3.0.
"...QuickTime 3.0 is the first unified release for Macintosh and Windows, with added support for professional-quality video. QTi is the next major release thereafter."
(5/30/97)

New LiveCard Mailing List

A new mailing list has been formed for discussion of LiveCard (the product by Royal Software which allows you to serve stacks over the web). See the "HyperCard Discussion Groups" section on my Links page for more info.
(5/30/97)

Star Trek Stacks Updated

A few months ago we featured a Star Trek Episode Guide as a "Cool Stack of the Week." Oak Mountain Software recently announced that version 3.1 of their excellent Star Trek stacks are now available at their web site.
(5/30/97)

ScriptDemon: Browser Plug-In for AppleScript

Royal Software has announced ScriptDemon 1.0, a browser plug-in that allows you to deliver and run AppleScripts over Intranets or the Internet. Royal says that ScriptDemon is a good companion to LiveCard (which allows HyperCard stacks to be served over the web).
AppleScript is a scripting language that allows you to control Mac applications and the Desktop. ScriptDemon gives you all the power of AppleScript via the Web. In essence, the AppleScript code on the Web page takes over the browsing computer, executes the AppleScript, and returns control to the browser.
Possible uses include using an Intranet to manage all Mac computers on-line, using the Internet to install and configure software (or to configure hardware), delivering complex sets of files and assembling them on the browsing computer, providing interactive education and product support, and more.
(4/30/97)

Royal Software Releases FTP Tool 1.2

Royal Software has announced the release of FTP Tool 1.2, the Internet connectivity solution for HyperCard developers. FTP Tool is a fully-scriptable code resource for dynamically transferring and managing files across the Internet. It is completely compatible with Royal's LiveCard, which allows you to run HyperCard stacks on a Mac server from any browser on any platform. By providing an easy-to-use set of commands you can develop custom gateways and front ends to the Internet for multimedia, CBT, education or business. FTP Tool costs $54.95 and is license-free for use in commercial applications. It is also available as part of Royal's TCPSuite -- you get all the functionality of FTP Tool 1.2 plus the SendEmail and GetURL XCMDs as well for $99.95.
(4/18/97)

HyperTalk Book to be Updated

Jeanne DeVoto, one of the authors of HyperTalk 2.2: The Book, has announced on the HyperCard mailing list that the book will be updated for HyperCard 3.0. She said, "The book will be published by IDG Books, and will be part of their "Bible" series (so the title will probably be something similar to The HyperTalk 3.0 Bible. Publication date and details to come -- I will be putting some info up as it becomes available. I hope everyone likes it! (Not to mention "buys it". ;-)"
(4/9/97)

Apple's E-Mail Address for Beta Testing Changes

On Friday, March 28, a member of the HyperCard team told me that the address used to send in beta testing applications is changing. The former address -- HYPERBUG$@applelink.apple.com -- should no longer be used because they are phasing out AppleLink. This change is not unexpected; Kevin Calhoun at Apple stated several months ago that "eventually we'll get a group address on apple.com and ditch the AppleLink connection entirely."
A new address will be announced soon; I'll post it here as soon as it's available. If you'd like to prepare your request while you're waiting, here's the procedure:
You'll be sending your request along with your name and mailing address (not a P.O. box) to <new address to be announced soon>. If you are a developer, describe how you currently use HyperCard and the types of projects you'd like to do with 3.0. Apple is especially interested in projects which will demonstrate 3.0's features and capabilities, and could be ready when 3.0 is launched. Please note that you probably won't receive an immediate reply from Apple, but they will keep your request on file.
(3/28/97)

Royal Awards Announced

On March 13, 1997, Royal Software announced the winners of this years "Royals," the annual award presented to honor the best in HyperCard programming. The winners are:

Special Presentation: Param Singh, Kevin Calhoun and the HyperCard Development Team.

Community Service Award: Jaqueline Landman Gay (HyperActive Software) for KeyBoard Talker, a program that helps autistic children to communicate with the world around them.

Program of the Year: LiveCard, an innovative program authored by Eric Oesterle that allows Macintosh users to run their HyperCard stacks over the Internet.

Developer of the Year: Dan Gelder (who is 17 years old) for his work in MegaWindows. Initially shareware, MegaWindows is now a commercial program that can be used to enhance HyperCard's interface.

Web Site of the Year: Jim Stephenson's HyperCard Heaven, the most exciting resource for HyperCard news and information on the Web. (Royal's words, not ours ;)

You can read more about the awards (and submit your nominations for next year's awards) on the Royal Awards page at Royal Software.
(3/21/97)

"Insanely Cool" Product Lets HC Interact with External Devices

Beehive Technologies is selling a new product called ADB I/O. It's a data acquisition and control product that can work with HyperCard. Here's what Andy Ihnatko said about it recently in MacUser:
"It's one of those products that is so completely and frabjously wonderful not because of a specific solution it offers, but because it simply offers possibilities. Technically put, it's an ADB device that allows your Mac to interact with multiple channels of digital and analog real-world data, controlled by AppleScript or any application which supports XCMDs. Let me tell you about just one bit of this device, which is about the size of a pack of cigarettes. One of its two ports ... has spaces where you can screw in four pairs of wires. For each of these pairs, the ADB I/O can either act as a switch itself, sending current (5V) down the wires or cutting it off, or it can sense whether a switch has been depressed.
"[for example]...You think it'd be fun to put on a game show ... like JEOPARDY. You'd love to have those little hand-buttons that the TV contestants use ... So you go to Radio Shack, you buy four push-button switches and some speaker wire ... Your way cool JEOPARDY game-board is being projected by a Mac running a HyperCard stack you've created...
[Andy gives several other examples which are deleted here for space reasons.]
"For well under $200, you have a tiny box that is easy to set up and program and can connect your Mac to the whole world. And I don't mean any of that Internet crap, either...I'm talking about setting off fireworks in your backyard, or silently turning on a big revolving fire-engine type of light whenever CallerID senses a call coming in from your mother!
"Insanely cool things. Look, just buy one, OK?"
(3/21/97)

HyperCard Team Needs Memorabilia

Do you remember HyperCard version 1.0? The team at Apple has unearthed a video from the Apple Library from July 1987. The video has a number of folks from the original HyperCard team, including Bill Atkinson and Dan Winkler, talking about HyperCard and also includes some 1987-vintage discussion about The Information Appliance. Kevin Calhoun, head of the HyperCard development team, is collecting as much of this kind of memorabilia as he can find to use at the intro of 3.0.
If any of you have interesting old mementos from HyperCard's early days and the means to scan/digitize/mail it, Kevin would love to get copies. A complete set of scans of the Freedom To Associate stickers would be a real find.
If you have any material of this nature you can contribute, scan or digitize it and email it to Kevin at jkc@apple.com. If you have non-digital items you'd like to mail via postal service, drop him a line.
--Jacqueline Gay, HyperActive Software

"Teach Yourself HyperCard" Site Wins Award

Congratulations to Mark Gregory; his Teach Yourself HyperCard site in Australia recently received the Gold Award from NetGuide! The Gold Award recognizes web sites that meet their stringent criteria for overall excellence.

Vaccine 3.2 Released; Removes New "Antibody" Virus

Anyone who runs HyperCard stacks will be interested in the latest, upgraded version of Vaccine, now available for download. Vaccine 3.2 is a HyperCard virus utility that will detect and remove common HyperCard viruses known to date. Bill Swagerty, the author, has recently upgraded it to include detection and removal of the new Antibody (or so-called "Black Knight") virus. The file will be available at the usual public archives soon. Meanwhile you can download it from the HyperActive Software web site or from the HyperCard Resource Center on AOL.
-- Jacqueline Gay, HyperActive Software

Note: You can also download Vaccine 3.2 here at HyperCard Heaven. -- editor