[Macworld]

Post your comments for Remains of the Day: Right here, right now here

[mblaydoe]

Ah, HyperCard! I remember it well! My son created a small game in HyperCard as a school project. I still think the Manhole and Cosmic Osmo are wonderful games.

I thought it an incredible way to create linked information and yes, it had to be the inspiration behind HTML. Thank you HyperCard!

[DocNo]

Dungeon of the Dogcow you say? Is it available for download anywhere? I have a few SE's, my original Plus and a Mac II that still can (and do) run HyperCard...

Bill Atkinson admits now that missing networking was huge - I doubt HTML/Mosaic would have taken off if HyperCard would have been able to communicate over the network in client/server mode. Think about how much nicer the web would be if it was the world wide card. HyperWeb? Hmm... maybe not....

[DocNo]

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"I missed the mark with HyperCard," Atkinson lamented. "I grew up in a box-centric culture at Apple. If I'd grown up in a network-centric culture, like Sun, HyperCard might have been the first Web browser. My blind spot at Apple prevented me from making HyperCard the first Web browser."

I always found this puzzling since the Mac was the first widely networked personal computer with the ubiquitous and inexpensive AppleTalk, especially compared to ArcNet, TokenRing, Ethernet, etc...

It wasn't that long ago that Ethernet was expensive and exotic. Whew.... I feel like I'm dating myself.

Right after the jokes about the network being down because someone left a token ring cable unplugged and the token fell out and is on the floor somewhere....

[zarmanto]

DocNo, on 31 May 2012 - 06:59 PM, said:

I always found this puzzling since the Mac was the first widely networked personal computer with the ubiquitous and inexpensive AppleTalk....

Agreed. The reality is, even as good as Hypercard was, there is still no guarantee that Atkinson could have beaten out HTML over TCP/IP as the de facto standard... some things are really just about being in the right place at the right time. Personally, I would argue that FirstClass circa 1992 was already superior to HTML browsers circa 1995 -- but the web browsers won out in the end anyway.

[whitedog]

Before "fixing" the dock connector, I'd like to see a case made for what's so wrong with it that could justify all the trouble and expense changing it would cause users. What will we gain from a new connector? Given that there are now hundreds of devices and dozens of cables that use the current connector, I think it will be a hard case to make. Apple will find out what real howls of protest sound like if they change to dock connector.

[zarmanto]

whitedog, on 04 June 2012 - 04:07 AM, said:

What will we gain from a new connector?

My guess? Possibly pin compatibility with the micro-USB standard, in order to eliminate the need for dongles to meet standards requirements in Europe. Other then that... I suppose only Apple knows.

whitedog, on 04 June 2012 - 04:07 AM, said:

Apple will find out what real howls of protest sound like if they change to dock connector.

Are you sure about that? After all, Apple has consistently made dramatic changes to their products, almost always causing a few things to break here and there in the short-term, (24-bit to 32-bit... CISC to RISC... MacOS 9 to MacOS X... RISC to Intel... etc. etc. ad nauseum) but any such "howls of protest" have always been short lived. Apple rarely focuses too much on the short-term impact of their decisions; if they are making a change to the dock, there's a decent chance that it'll be a very forward-thinking move that will make a lot more sense two years from now than it does when (if?) it's announced.

[DocNo]

zarmanto, on 01 June 2012 - 07:03 AM, said:

Personally, I would argue that FirstClass circa 1992 was already superior to HTML browsers circa 1995 -- but the web browsers won out in the end anyway.

First Class... now there is a blast from the past (I sill have my WWIV and Hermes BBS disks around here somewhere!). The problem with First Class vs. Hypercard was HyperScript. It was ridiculously easy to customize Hypercard. In many ways easier (and far more consistently) than with HTML.

HyperCard could have been adapted to TCP/IP. SuperCard showed and is still showing what could have been - it's still shipping(!!) Oh well... such zigs and zags are how history is formed.

[DocNo]

zarmanto, on 04 June 2012 - 08:01 AM, said:

My guess? Possibly pin compatibility with the micro-USB standard, in order to eliminate the need for dongles to meet standards requirements in Europe. Other then that... I suppose only Apple knows.

I do understand the European moves (politically motivated by competitors who can't compete directly but instead through legislation; ironic given that charge is often leveled at Apple) but USB is no more "standard" than Apple's dock connector. It's a royalty based connector just like Apple's. If I were Apple I'd continue to supply the dongle and move on.

Quote

whitedog, on 04 June 2012 - 04:07 AM, said:

Apple will find out what real howls of protest sound like if they change to dock connector.

Are you sure about that? After all, Apple has consistently made dramatic changes to their products, almost always causing a few things to break here and there in the short-term, (24-bit to 32-bit... CISC to RISC... MacOS 9 to MacOS X... RISC to Intel... etc. etc. ad nauseum) but any such "howls of protest" have always been short lived. Apple rarely focuses too much on the short-term impact of their decisions; if they are making a change to the dock, there's a decent chance that it'll be a very forward-thinking move that will make a lot more sense two years from now than it does when (if?) it's announced.

Mac OS 9 and RISC/Intel only affected one, or two computers at a time. I have dozens of dock accessories. Even my old Altec Lansing "boom box" that's almost 8 years old (yikes!) works with my iPhone! Yup, I can't shut the holder since it was sized for an iPod classic sized device, but it still works! That's huge. Apple isn't changing the dock connector any time soon unless there is a VERY compelling reason. The literally thousands of accessories that use it are the main reason - it's a huge ecosystem and added value.