prf@otter.hpl.hp.com (Paul Freeman) (10/05/90)
On the 1st of October I posted, requesting information about hypertext style products on the Amiga. A little asking around produced the viewpoint that, apart from AMIGAVISION which I haven't yet seen, there is little which is stable in the way of hypertext/hypermedia software. The main alternative products of note are CanDo and Ultracard. I'll probably wait for version 2 of Ultracard. I have heard of a product called DUNE as well, but all I know is its name. Here are highlights of the replies I recieved. Thanks for the help. Meanwhile back to some toolbook scripting :-) From huebner@aerospace.aero.org Mon Oct 1 20:07 BST 1990 >I've used several hypermedia products so I'll give some brief observations >on them: >The least "Hyper" of those that I've used is Deluxe Video III. Although >my experience with this program is limited, I can tell you that it does >make nice interactive presentations, but its not nearly as flexible as >some of the other packages. It uses a storyboard-type programming system >which is quite straightforward and easy to interpret. It does not >however have a programming script/langauge that allows you to cope with >more unique problems. Its also geared toward a display/browse system. >Using it to keep databases or balance a checkbook would be completely >beyond its scope. It is a great product for synching (sp?) video and >audio, and is well supported since it is part of the Deluxe line of >software from Electronic Arts. >CanDo (Innovatronics) is a more "classic" implementation of hypermedia. >It has everything you would find in a program like Mac's Hypercard, but >quite a bit more. The user interface is bi-level. There is a button- >pushing way to program the underlying script (language) or you can pound >away directly at the script. It has great usability. When you use the >begginer's method of creating (buttons), you can actually watch it write >the script to perform the functions you want. In this way, it teaches >you how to program painlessly. The user interface can get in the way >sometimes (slows down the creative process), but overall its a great >product that blows the socks off hypercard. Its resulting "stacks" can >be made "stand-alone" so others can run them without CanDo. I'd recommend >a harddisk to speed this puppy up, because floppy disk access can be >too frequent. >There is a less-expensive program called Ultracard which does the same >types of applications with an inferior interface and fewer features. I >haven't used it personally, so I'll withold judgement. >Amiga Vision promises to be the best yet in the hypermedia market. >Commodore did a great job in bringing this to the market, and the fact >that it is now being packaged with all new >1 Meg amigas sold (in the >US, anyway) will certainly make it the de-facto standard. Using a >combination of the other two systesm (storyboarding and scripting) >creates a system that is both simple to use and flexible. Support for >Laserdisc players, MIDI, and Dbase files are all part of the package. >I have not yet used this program to make any "serious" stacks, (of course, >AV doesn't use the stack/card terminology, but I do for simplicity sake). >so I cannot comment on the usability in the long run. But if you want >to get your feet wet with a package that will be able to meet the majority >of your needs, I'd recommend this one. Its only 1 disk (plus an examples/ >extras disk) and is fully compatible with the A3000 in its newest version. ***************************************************************************** ***************************************************************************** From mikep@hpmwngf.hp.com Tue Oct 2 02:49 BST 1990 Hi Paul... I have experience using UltraCard, CanDo, and AmigaVision software for the Amiga. They are all similar approaches to authoring systems... although the most HyperCard-like is UltraCard without any doubt. It has some simple HyperText routines built-in. The earliest versions of this program were buggy as hell, but with the release of UltraCard Plus, things are on the right track. U.C. also makes use of a UltraTalk language and gives the program it's real power. Documentation is fairly weak though (in comparison to Amigavision and CanDo). AmigaVision has no scripting language at all and is wall-to-wall icons and requesters... I think that the software is not nearly as flexible as U.C. and is a bit difficult to work with when making a complicated project. Cando is probably my second choice for authoring... there is a small scripting language available that has some nice features, but falls short of UltraCard. It also has wall-to-wall requesters that ultimately hamper working with it.... it looks slick, but at the cost of ease of use. My best pick for a HyperCard style program is UltraCard... although UltraCard 2.0 is abbout to arrive... but under a different name. It will be called 'Foundation' and will be marketed/sold by Impulse (the makers of Turbo Silver). Foundation 'should' be shipping before Christmas.... apparently the program and manual is done, it's just a matter of transferring the whole mess to Impulse (it was developed at Intuitive technologies in California). It should be a great improvement over it's little brother UltraCard. Hope this is what you were looking for... -Mike Powell- ***************************************************************************** ***************************************************************************** From: clem@sybase.com (David Clemons) >The most "hypertext-like" Amiga program I've seen, but not used, is CanDo. >There's a new Commodore product called AmigaVision that is only icon based with >no scripting. There's another called Thinker, and one called Ultracard. In the >area of scripting, there's a program called The Director that has a Basic-like >control and you can create an graphic interface for it for your applications. >Sorry I don't own any of these (except Director), so treat this as just a list >of one's I've seen or heard of. =David ************************************************************************** ******************************************************* Paul Freeman - who doesn't work in HP labs despite his mail address. *******************************************************
mwm@raven.pa.dec.com (Mike (My Watch Has Windows) Meyer) (10/06/90)
In article <28050004@otter.hpl.hp.com> prf@otter.hpl.hp.com (Paul Freeman) writes:
A little asking around produced the viewpoint that, apart from
AMIGAVISION which I haven't yet seen, there is little which is
stable in the way of hypertext/hypermedia software. The main alternative
products of note are CanDo and Ultracard. I'll probably wait for
version 2 of Ultracard.
Your reviewers missed Thinker completely. It's a quite stable
hypertext system, with extensions that allow the user of other media.
Unlike cando/amigavision/ultracard, it _is not_ an authoring system.
As far as I know, there's not a redistributable reader that supports
the more recent options.
<mike
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