chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) (09/27/89)
The answer to "Why Hypercard 1.2.5", direct from the mouth of Dan Winkler (posted with permission): > - 1.2.3 wasn't used for fear of a lawsuit from Lotus, and Close. Not worried about a lawsuit at all. They just didn't want to deal with the situation at all. No pressure from anyone.... > - 1.2.4 wasn't used because it would be too obvious that > . they were just skipping 1.2.3. Nope. 4 is an unlucky number in Japan, so Gassee and the Hypercard team decided to skip it. -- Chuq Von Rospach <+> Editor,OtherRealms <+> Member SFWA/ASFA chuq@apple.com <+> CI$: 73317,635 <+> [This is myself speaking. I am not Appl Segmentation Fault. Core dumped.
ech@cbnewsk.ATT.COM (ned.horvath) (09/27/89)
From article <35049@apple.Apple.COM>, by chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach): >> - 1.2.4 wasn't used because it would be too obvious that >> . they were just skipping 1.2.3. > Nope. 4 is an unlucky number in Japan, so Gassee and the Hypercard team > decided to skip it. Ye gods. We finally get Nancy's astrologer out of the White House... I guess this means that the next feature release is 1.5; 1.3 looks too much like (dare I whisper it?) (*thirteen*), and the Japanese will shun 1.4. Now, if Apple considered "III" unlucky, I could understand that... =Ned=
rubinoff@linc.cis.upenn.edu (Robert Rubinoff) (09/28/89)
In article <1081@cbnewsk.ATT.COM> ech@cbnewsk.ATT.COM (ned.horvath) writes: >From article <35049@apple.Apple.COM>, by chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach): >>> - 1.2.4 wasn't used because it would be too obvious that >>> . they were just skipping 1.2.3. > >> Nope. 4 is an unlucky number in Japan, so Gassee and the Hypercard team >> decided to skip it. > >Ye gods. We finally get Nancy's astrologer out of the White House... My understanding is that the word for "4" is also the word for "death" in Japanese. (I can't remember whether it's the pronunciation or the written form or both.) So it's just that Japanese are reluctant to buy a product labelled "Version 1.2.Death" This is perhaps not the most rational thing in the world, but it's not all that unreasonable, especially since they had already skipped version 1.2.3. It's sort of like when Chevy discoverd they had to change the name of the "Nova" in order to successfully sell it in Latin America. Robert
pj@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Paul Jacoby) (09/29/89)
Not to digress, but if: >>4 is an unlucky number in Japan, so Gassee and the Hypercard team decided to skip it.<< Then will the Japanese see System Software 6.0.5 for the Portable and IIci? .-----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | UUCP: {rosevax, crash, orator}!orbit!pnet51!pj | Working with idiots keeps | | ARPA: crash!orbit!pnet51!pj@nosc.mil | my life interesting... | | INET: pj@pnet51.cts.com | | `-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'