I've been developing custom solutions in HyperCard for about ten years, so it's worked its way into many aspects of my professional life. Of interest: Golem: Golem is a HyperCard-based Internet robot, designed to help manage and analyze large numbers of URLs and Internet resources associated with sizable editorial and survey projects. Rather than being a Web-spider that progressively checks links as it finds them, Golem verifies a specific list of URLs and produces a detailed report for each item: whether the URL has moved or is missing, whether the URL matches your keywords with some confidence, what servers or Web technologies the URL might be using, etc. Although Golem isn't currently available for public use, its services are contracted by a number of high-profile clients in the computing industry, including Microsoft Corporation. http://www.quibble.com/golem/ TidBITS: Over the years, substantial portions of the behind-the-scenes, day-to-day operations of the Macintosh newsletter TidBITS have come to rely on HyperCard. HyperCard-based solutions include: * Automated distribution of weekly issues to FTP and Web archives, databases, search engines, and other facilities * Automated processing of subscription requests * Creation and maintainance of online discussion list archives * Processing and automated handling of email "bounce" messages received in response to issues * Automated (hourly) updates to the TidBITS home page and other portions of the TidBITS Web site http://www.tidbits.com/
Comments to: Geoff Duncan
One of the first projects I have done with Hypercard was for a weekly newspaper. It did everything from accounts receivable, to counting the words in classified ads and preparing the bill and generating the sorted and tagged text file for Quark Xpress. Then I created a set of stacks to manage a bookstore. After a few years, the owners of the bookstore decided to split. They each took a copy of my stacks, and Pierre told me: "Now that Jacques is gone, we're going to remove this and that..." And Jacques told me: "Now that Pierre is not there any more, we will add this and that..." So now, I have two very different solutions for bookstores. I have also created stacks to manage box offices of summer theatres. Selling tickets may seem simple, but there is a lot more than meets the eyes. There are so many exceptions, and the employees hired to operate the thing have to learn everything within a few hours of training. And the board keep finding new packages that wreak havoc with the system (like 3 tickets for 55$ (=$18.333 each). Good thing Hypercard is very flexible. I have also written a software to manage a granite manufacture from preparing and faxing the quotes, to printing the price lists to managing production, billing, shipping and accounts receivable. And one of the secretary who has worked for a competitor said that my software is simpler to use than the one she had at the other shop (which ran on Unix boxes and cost more than 20 times more than mine). Making a backup of their files took hours and was very distressful. While my whole system resides in one stack which can be saved on one disquette (with all the price lists, and info on a hundred customers for the last three years and room to spare). Well processed invoices are kept in a separate annual archive stack (which easily fits on another disquette). But anyway, making backups is much simpler. Now, I'm working on ways to create reusable scripts and to improve the style of my screens so that people can recognize my look and feel.
Comments to: Serge Grenier
I have used HyperCard to create scanning communication displays for several adults with severe disabilities who attend our day programs. These displays emulate expensive and sophisticated augmentative communication devices and are extemely useful when the expensive hardware is out for repair. Using these communication displays, our adults can use remote switches, activated by a movement of the hand, arm or head, to indicate a choice from among a variety of routine items and activities.
Comments to: Bill Lynn
I teach Esperanto to kids who have messed in their other foreign language courses. I built a Hypercard stack that works like a set of flashcards, but with some refinements. Students can pick which level of words to work on, what part of speech to practice, and which language will serve as the prompt. They can also marked words as learned when learned, to avoid having them repeat, plus they can keep a running count of words learned. Using the text-to-speech capability of the Mac, the stack will also speak each word if the student chooses. The students can also type in the Esperanto words to see if they remember them (or since the language is phonetic, whether they can transcribe them.) Also, I recently added a card for writing letters, with a two-way Esperanto-English dictionary. I also built a collector stack which will retrieve the learned words from each kid's stack, and put them into a text file for later vocabulary tests. (Not a feature that the kids really appreciate.) Hypercard also lets me hack quick fixes to various text document problems - misplaced tabs, too many returns, etc. It's great for fixing the idiosyncracies of a faculty who have no common stylesheet for some of the things they write.
Comments to: S. D. Wagenseller
I have been a high school special education teacher in Wisconsin for over 25 years. Since 1993, I have used HyperCard to develop applications for Special Educators and Athletic Directors, and currently market these programs in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa. I function under the name of the JENWORTH COMPANY, and currently do business with over 180 school districts. Special educators have the unenviable task of writing Individual Education Plans (IEP's) for their students. Along with these IEP's, there are additional forms and reports that must be developed throughout the course of the school year. The JENWORTH IEP SYSTEM is a classroom management tool that allows special educators to develop these forms and reports with the computer, thus saving invaluable time. The program also contains the following components: Lesson Planner, To-Do List, Address Book, Letters, and Grade Book. Athletic Directors (AD's) have an overwhelming amount of paper work associated with their job. In the smaller districts, the AD's are often without the aid of a secretary, and must generate all this paperwork on their own. This paperwork is in the form of Game Contracts, Official Contracts, worker notices, check requests, time sheets, bus schedules, team schedules, and team rosters. In addition, student participation records and budget records must be maintained. The JENWORTH AD PROGRAM MANAGER was developed to function as a personal secretary to the Athletic Director. After data is entered surrounding the athletic events, the program generates all the forms and reports in a fraction of the time, and also assists the AD in managing the athletic program. Marvin Wurth 330 E. Dewey St. Platteville, WI 53818
Comments to: Marvin Wurth
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Revised: November 6, 1998
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