Like Newton users, fans of HyperCard never give up. The European HyperCard User Group (eHUG), an affiliate of the International HyperCard User Group (iHUG), will be touting the Apple-created tool for creating custom software solutions for users at all skill and experience levels at next week’s Apple Expo 2002 in Paris.
Introduced in 1987, HyperCard organizes information into “stacks” that users can navigate and search for the information they need. By clicking on a button, users can view related text, see a graphic, hear a sound, watch a QuickTime movie or listen to text aloud.
eHUG will be at Stand D94 in the MacTech Central Pavilion of Hall 4 at the Expo. If you’re at the show, drop by for a free CD-ROM. You can also sign up for a drawing to win a copy of HyperCard.
The European HyperCard User Group consists of iHUG members living in Europe who receive the group’s newsletter in five languages. Currently, the eHUG Web site is available in three languages. If you’d like to receive the group’s newsletter, send an e-mail to Europe@iHUG.org with a request.
“eHUG will exhibit amateur and professional solutions to the needs of individual Mac users,” said Mark Schonewille, eHUG’s coordinator. “We enjoy talking about HyperCard, are ready to answer questions, and happy to introduce HyperCard to anyone not familiar with it.”
“European HyperCard users have often felt that the American market has received relatively much more attention, possibly leaving Apple with the impression that HyperCard did not find a strong market potential outside the US,” Schonewille said. “In order to change this, I founded eHUG in 2001.”
iHUG and eHUG are working to convince Apple to revive and rejuvenate HyperCard, including Carbonizing it for Mac OS X. At one time, Apple planned to ramp HyperCard to version 3.0. Those plans have stalled, however, as the company says doing so would require moving resources and people away from currently successful development strategies in order to set up a full team with all its complementary support structures.
The five-day Apple Expo kicks off in Paris, France on September 10, and concludes on September 14. The event happens at Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles, Hall 4. Attendees can register online.
“This is going to be an event that cannot be ignored by Apple,” Schonewille said. “The only possible conclusion to be drawn by Apple is that a very important market in Europe is being forgotten here, and a new HyperCard 3.0 for Mac OS X has to be released to allow all HyperCard users to make their decision to migrate to Apple’s new operating system. This translates into more sales of Apple branded hardware and software.”