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HyperStudio



Author: Rocky Waters
Date: February, 1994
Keywords: Roger Wagner multimedia HyperCard SuperCard
Text: HyperStudio, by Roger Wagner Publishing, is an application program for the creation of multimedia projects. The result obtained from HyperStudio is similar to that from HyperCard and SuperCard. I started by first reading through the documentation, something I normally do not do. The manual and tutorial have a plastic spiral binding, not very good for manuals you have to refer to often. Fortunately, this application is fairly easy to use and most people would probably refer to it very little after the first reading. On the very first page of the tutorial, under ''Important Stuff'' was a minor problem, one is supposed to locate the blue sheet containing information about installing and running HyperStudio. But they must have run out of blue paper, because there was no blue sheet in the package. However, I was able to move forward when finding the information on a bright green sheet. This left me wondering how many more problems I might find. I found the rest of the text was accurate, though. A dog character, Addy, guides one through the tutorial step-by-step covering the major functions of building a project. I think it would not be intimidating for a non-programmer to learn following this guide. The program is distributed on three high density disks and was very easy to install. The program and auxiliary files take about 7MB when first installed, several megabytes of sample stacks can be easily eliminated, if space is sparse. The minimal disk space needed is only about 1MB, for the HyperStudio program and a home stack. HyperStudio will run with System 6.0.7 or higher and requires about 2MB of RAM after System 7 is loaded. HyperStudio's environment is very easy to work in. Substantial projects can be done in HyperStudio without scripting. Links and other functions are done through menus. The program is extensible with New Button Actions (NBA), something similar to a XCMD. For those that might be inclined, there was no documentation indicating whether one could get the specifications for writing an NBA. Although a substantial project can be done without scripting, sometimes dealing with variables is necessary. To this end, a language, HyperLogo was developed. It was not included with the package I received, but should arrive soon. Some documentation was included which indicates that this is a fairly standard version of the Logo programming language. The card size is currently limited to 520x384, documentation states that there will soon be a free upgrade to a version with a variety of card sizes. This package is designed to work with color or black & white. Stacks that are created in color may not look as good as they could when reduced to black & white, so the company includes a coupon for black & white optimized versions of their home stack and sample stacks. Included with the package is support for QuickTime, various video cameras, CD-ROM, and Laserdiscs. Sounds can be recorded from within HyperStudio, but there is no editing facility. The package is marketed heavily towards schools. Sample programs include some that were done by elementary school children. The pricing structure includes lab packs and site licensing that can bring the price down to about $32.00 per station. The package includes a player that is freely distributable with stacks, as long as it is for non-profit purposes. The application is not designed to produce self-running versions of the stacks. If you are looking for a quick way to do simple multimedia this looks to be an excellent package. HyperStudio is available for $109 from: Roger Wagner Publishing 1050 Pioneer Way, Suite P El Cajon, CA 92020

Copyright © february, 1994 by Rocky Waters


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