TweetFollow Us on Twitter

Hyperchat Award
Volume Number:5
Issue Number:4
Column Tag:HyperChat™

HyperChat™ Award

By Fred Stauder, HyperChat Editor, Zurich, Switzerland

1st Annual HyperChat Award

Amanda Goodenough author of the Inigo and Your Faithful Camel series, and self confessed “techno-wimp” is the winner of the first annual HyperChat Award for stack design. The award was presented at the January MacWorld in San Francisco.

You may ask why this award goes to someone who has written childlike stacks. Let me tell you a bit of history regarding Amanda’s work. When I first saw Amanda’s stack “Inigo Gets Out,” in the very early HyperCard days, I thought this was done by some kid, and it didn’t have any cool scripts or buttons. The reason was that I was a “techno-macho” as Amanda puts it. My quest in the early days was to look at stacks that had neat scripts and tricks. I saw many really ugly stacks with excess buttons dropped, I assume, randomly on cards. One day I saw people playing “Inigo gets out.” I watched the people. They knew intuitively where to click. Even very small children saying things like click on the tree. Before long we were all involved in Inigo’s adventures, totally forgetting about the Mac.

Here was a great example of the Mac being used for it’s original purpose-a tool. The machine was unimportant, it was what you could easily do with it that was.

I started to look at Amanda’s stacks from a design and human interface perspective. I discovered that Amanda achieves simple functionality by a few key insights.

The number of objects on each screen is minimized. Objects are familiar and recognizable. Controls (button) are not hidden. With appropriate placement, the eye focuses on important objects. No Cryptic Keys. It is Fun. Introduction of emotion into software (not the type when you get a bomb).

Note the similarities with the above and some of the Apple Human Interface Guidelines. How do you introduce fun into a commercial “serious” software package? Look at the MPW 3.0 about box, that’s fun; isn’t it? Introducing emotion is a bit more difficult, but still appropriate in some instances. How many people have had an AppleLink signed with a happy or a sad face? I have. If you are developing communication or training software, you should look at how emotion can be a powerful tool.

I am not saying that you should write a word processor or page layout program that has Amanda’s style. Actually that would not be a bad idea after all. If you can make it simple enough for a child to use, you would gain a lot of insight into how to simplify an interface and retain functionality. Actually that is one of the steps I do to design interfaces. I mentally put myself in the shoes of a total novice and ask how would they like to do something, and then integrating those ideas with the needs of the power user.

Too many programmers increase the number of menu items as the number of features increase. This is a no-no. Don’t leave the user confused. Don´t think the user must be dumb if he/she can’t use your software. Don’t forget you might have Mega hours on computers and the end user may only have a few. Peter Higgs from Apple Australia in his excellent campaign for lawyers, headed it with “Use a Macintosh if you haven´t got time to learn about computers.”

Let’s strive to make our software more intuitive and easier to use. This is a much bigger challenge than writing tighter loops.

I believe in the future, when we won´t have to wrestle syntax and structure, we will be part of a transition from programmers to software designers. As we make computers faster and smarter, we can let them do our dirty jobs for us.

A aircraft designer no longer has to modify an aircraft and jump off a cliff in it to test it; he has available to him tools to make his design job easier.

I would also like to congratulate Steve Maller, Robertson Smith, and Elon Gasper; if there was more than one prize to give they all deserve one. Steve for Rescopy, Robertson for Stack Starter, and Elon for HyperAnimator. There is one unsung hero in Amanda’s stack life that I would like to acknowledge, her husband Bob, who is an inspiration to Amanda and the Hypercard community. Thanks Bob.

Amanda on receiving the award said that she would give the next recipient of the HyperChat Award a complete set of her software.

MacWorld Goodies

It was quite a spectacular splash the introduction of Supercard. The HyperCard you always wanted, Color, Big Screen, Multiple Cards... and the list goes on. At first glance, it looks good.

From the other corner of the Globe (Germany) comes another HyperCard competitor temporarily named Plus. It too has color etc. One interesting thing from a programmer’s point of view is the concept of software slots. The company will provide developers with object code so they can modify to their hearts content. I feel this will be a future trend.

I will be giving you a full report of the cards compared from a developers perspective in the near future. Another really exciting thing was the announcement of HyperTmon. This is a truly useful HyperCard debugger brought to you by Icom.

Last year I saw an expert system tool for HyperCard called HyperX, it is written entirely in Hypertalk. I thought it wasn’t polished enough to review, and it was a bit awkward to use. Well HyperX is now Xciting (xcuse the puns). It is really good to see a company that listens to the end users and constantly improves their product (improves not just adds new features). This is a product to watch out for. I will be reviewing it as I make some serious applications with it.

 

Community Search:
MacTech Search:

Software Updates via MacUpdate

Latest Forum Discussions

See All

Combo Quest (Games)
Combo Quest 1.0 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes) Description: Combo Quest is an epic, time tap role-playing adventure. In this unique masterpiece, you are a knight on a heroic quest to retrieve... | Read more »
Hero Emblems (Games)
Hero Emblems 1.0 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $2.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes) Description: ** 25% OFF for a limited time to celebrate the release ** ** Note for iPhone 6 user: If it doesn't run fullscreen on your device... | Read more »
Puzzle Blitz (Games)
Puzzle Blitz 1.0 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $1.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes) Description: Puzzle Blitz is a frantic puzzle solving race against the clock! Solve as many puzzles as you can, before time runs out! You have... | Read more »
Sky Patrol (Games)
Sky Patrol 1.0.1 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $1.99, Version: 1.0.1 (iTunes) Description: 'Strategic Twist On The Classic Shooter Genre' - Indie Game Mag... | Read more »
The Princess Bride - The Official Game...
The Princess Bride - The Official Game 1.1 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $3.99, Version: 1.1 (iTunes) Description: An epic game based on the beloved classic movie? Inconceivable! Play the world of The Princess Bride... | Read more »
Frozen Synapse (Games)
Frozen Synapse 1.0 Device: iOS iPhone Category: Games Price: $2.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes) Description: Frozen Synapse is a multi-award-winning tactical game. (Full cross-play with desktop and tablet versions) 9/10 Edge 9/10 Eurogamer... | Read more »
Space Marshals (Games)
Space Marshals 1.0.1 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $4.99, Version: 1.0.1 (iTunes) Description: ### IMPORTANT ### Please note that iPhone 4 is not supported. Space Marshals is a Sci-fi Wild West adventure taking place... | Read more »
Battle Slimes (Games)
Battle Slimes 1.0 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $1.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes) Description: BATTLE SLIMES is a fun local multiplayer game. Control speedy & bouncy slime blobs as you compete with friends and family.... | Read more »
Spectrum - 3D Avenue (Games)
Spectrum - 3D Avenue 1.0 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $2.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes) Description: "Spectrum is a pretty cool take on twitchy/reaction-based gameplay with enough complexity and style to stand out from the... | Read more »
Drop Wizard (Games)
Drop Wizard 1.0 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $1.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes) Description: Bring back the joy of arcade games! Drop Wizard is an action arcade game where you play as Teo, a wizard on a quest to save his... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Our MacBook Price Trackers will show you the...
Our Apple award-winning MacBook Price Trackers are continually updated with the latest information on prices, bundles, and availability for 16″ and 14″ MacBook Pros along with 13″ and 15″ MacBook... Read more
Amazon is offering a 10% discount on Apple’s...
Don’t pay full price! Amazon has 16-inch M4 Pro MacBook Pros (Silver and Black colors) on sale today for 10% off Apple’s MSRP. Shipping is free. These are the lowest prices currently available for 16... Read more
13-inch M4 MacBook Airs on sale for $150 off...
Amazon has new 13″ M4 MacBook Airs on sale for $150 off MSRP right now, starting at $849. Sale prices apply to most colors and configurations. Be sure to select Amazon as the seller, rather than a... Read more
15-inch M4 MacBook Airs on sale for $150 off...
Amazon has new 15″ M4 MacBook Airs on sale for $150 off Apple’s MSRP, starting at $1049. Be sure to select Amazon as the seller, rather than a third-party: – 15″ M4 MacBook Air (16GB/256GB): $1049, $... Read more
Amazon is offering a $50 discount on Apple’s...
Amazon has Apple’s 11th-generation A16 iPads in stock on sale for $50 (or a little more) off MSRP this week. Shipping is free: – 11″ 11th-generation 128GB WiFi iPads: $299 $50 off MSRP – 11″ 11th-... Read more
Clearance 13-inch M1 MacBook Airs available f...
Walmart has clearance, but new, Apple 13″ M1 MacBook Airs (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) available online for $649, $360 off original MSRP, in Space Gray, Silver, and Gold colors. These are new MacBooks for... Read more
iPad minis on sale for $100 off Apple’s MSRP...
Amazon is offering $100 discounts (up to 20% off) on Apple’s newest 2024 WiFi iPad minis, each with free shipping. These are the lowest prices available for new minis among the Apple retailers we... Read more
AirPods Max headphones on sale for $479, $70...
Amazon has AirPods Max with USB-C on sale for $479.99 in all colors. Shipping is free. Their price is $70 off Apple’s MSRP, and it’s the lowest price available today for AirPods Max. Keep an eye on... Read more
14-inch M4 Pro/M4 Max MacBook Pros on sale th...
Don’t pay full price! Get a new 14″ MacBook Pro with an M4 Pro or M4 Max CPU for up to $320 off Apple’s MSRP this weekend at these retailers…they are the lowest prices available for these MacBook... Read more
Get a 15-inch M4 MacBook Air for $150 off App...
A couple of Apple retailers are offering $150 discounts on new 15″ M4 MacBook Airs this weekend. Prices at these retailers start at $1049: (1): Amazon has new 15″ M4 MacBook Airs on sale for $150 off... Read more

Jobs Board

All contents are Copyright 1984-2011 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.