Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!ut-sally!ut-ngp!auscso!mentat
From: mentat@auscso.UUCP (Robert Dorsett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hypercard,comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: MacUser Hypercard coverage (now Hypercard user interface)
Message-ID: <749@auscso.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 26-Nov-87 21:21:54 EST
Article-I.D.: auscso.749
Posted: Thu Nov 26 21:21:54 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 29-Nov-87 18:40:49 EST
References: <34557@sun.uucp> <7469@eddie.MIT.EDU> <34647@sun.uucp> <14541@felix.UUCP>
Reply-To: mentat@auscso.UUCP (Robert Dorsett)
Organization: Austin UNIX Users' Group, Austin, TX
Lines: 50
Xref: mnetor comp.sys.mac.hypercard:178 comp.sys.mac:10347

In article <14541@felix.UUCP> john@felix.UUCP (John Gilbert) writes:
>
>>The non-standard interface of Hypercard is a giant step backward.  Hypercard
>>is a great application, with a lousy user interface - lousy because it is
>>not consistent with the vast majority of Mac applications.  I'm amazed
>>that it made it out in its current form.  While the MacUser criticism is
>>overstated, the basic point is valid: Hypercard does not conform to the
>>Mac user interface.
>
>The interface in HyperCard is not substantially different.  It is limited,
>and will probably improve.  But this whole argument seems sort of off track.
>You can't blame the program.  You might want to blame the tools, but really,
>you should blame the developers who chose to use the tools in a non-standard
>way.  It is possible to create some very Mac-like interfaces in HyperCard.

Hypercard's been likened as the new Applesoft (for those of you whose memories
don't extend in that direction, Applesoft was the very fast BASIC inter-
preter built into Apple ]['s): something that one can crank up relatively fast 
and get some "useful" work done in.  Unfortunately, it is CLEARLY producing 
the same quality of software that Applesoft did.  Anyone remember those Apple
ads in 1981-82 promoting the II because of its "massive program reserve,"
which was listed at 30,000-45,000 programs?  The bulk of which were utterly
unusable or pure trash.

Hypercard's going to give a lot of relative novices the power to CREATE stuff.
They are not under the pressure that both hackers and professional developers
have been to create standardized software (it's STILL a miracle that there
haven't been more PD programs distributed running in xyz environment's 
"development" shell).  It is impossible to contest that Hypercard's really 
neat, and will be useful for a lot of people.  But I think that the overall
quality of software for the Mac will suffer as a consequence: people will
(and have) create embarassing software, and proudly distribute it by uploading
their creations to BBS's or distributing copies through user groups.  I don't
think that type of propagation will speak well for the Mac, as a whole.  And
let's not even mention the massive SIZE of Hypercard stacks.  I do NOT think 
that Hypercard "developers" are under the same pressure to be con-
sistent as the people who acutally own copies of Inside Mac.

Who knows, perhaps Apple has purposely avoided pushing consistency to placate
the "hysterical developers" that the Mac rags consistently refer to (but never
NAME, for some reason :-)).  






-- 
Robert Dorsett                  {allegra,ihnp4}!ut-sally!ut-ngp!walt!mentat
University of Texas at Austin	{allegra, ihnp4}!ut-sally!ut-ngp!auscso!mentat