HYPERSTUDIO review
By Wayne Short
Copyright (c) 1990 Apple Users' Group, Sydney
Republished from Applecations, a publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia.
The Hypermedia System for the Apple IIGS
Hypermedia is a creative environment where even non-programmers can bring graphics, sound and text together, in an interactive an connected way.
The most well known Hypermedia authoring program is Apple's own "Hypercard" which was developed for the Macintosh several years ago.
HYPERSTUDIO, from Roger Wagner Publishing, is similar in features to "Hypercard" but was developed to run on the Apple IIGS and take advantages of the strengths of that machine. It is currently the only native 16 bit hypermedia program for the IIGS and could now be considered relatively bug free following the recent release of version 2.1 of the software. (Apple has been working on its own Hypercard GS but no firm release dates are available.)
HYPERSTUDIO uses the analogy of index cards, on which can be placed graphics and text, etc. A collection of cards is known as a "stack" and the first card of each stack is referred to as the "Home Card". Movement within each stack is accomplished via the mouse. Buttons (visible or invisible) are attached to each card, and "linked" to other cards, so that the user can move to any other card based on information and an action in the current card.
However with HYPERSTUDIO, you are not limited to linking your card to other cards as can also connect to stacks or application programs (S16 files). In this way, you could utilise HYPERSTUDIO as a "mini" program launcher for applications on a hard disk.
Each card, is a Super Hi-Res graphics image and these can be developed within HYPERSTUDIO or imported from other graphics packages such as the PaintWorks Gold, Deluxe Paint II or the Graphics Exchange. Text for each card can be entered via HYPERSTUDIO or imported from products such as Appleworks or ascii text files.
Within each card you can also embed sound from any previously digitised sound file. Taking the hypermedia concept to the limit, it is also possible to attach a video image or sequence from a video disc player to a given card. (To do this requires the Apple video overlay card). Only one video sequence can be added per card.
When you add either text, graphics or sound to a card the default is to embed the data within the stack itself. However, as the stack is limited to the computer's available memory, to create a stack with hundreds of such items required an alternative approach. The second choice, Extended access, gives you the option of leaving the graphic (or other) file in its current location and having HYPERSTUDIO go back to that location whenever it needs it. Although this gives a slower transition between cards, it significantly increases the overall size of the stack you can create.
Also included is the "Sound Shop", a utility program for digitising sound samples. The "Sight 'n Sound" utility lets you set up a disk to bring up a Super Hi-Res Picture and/or sound file while a disk is starting up.
Installation
The package comes with four 3.5-inch diskettes and a manual. The program is not copy protected and upon open the box it is good precaution to make backup copies of the original disks and only use the backup disks.
Installation on a hard drive is straight forward as a script for using Apple's Installer program is supplied. Just follow the prompts to insert the required disk for copying...
HYPERSTUDIO is a complete system and includes:
- hypermedia authoring system
- paint tools
- text editor
- sound editor
- amplified speaker
- sound digitising hardware card
- microphone
HYPERSTUDIO is both a hardware and software product, so installation is not instantaneous. You'll need to actually open the IIGS and use a screwdriver.
The hardware portion of the package is the sound digitiser. This is a small circuit board that does not plug into a slot. A lengthy ribbon cable attaches the board to the sound input socket on the IIGS motherboard near the Ensoniq sound chip. The digitiser board gets its electrical power from the little two-prong socket reserved for the Apple fan. If you already have a fan in that socket, the digitiser provides another chain port. Plug the digitiser board into the socket and plug the fan into the chain port on the digitiser.
The microphone plugs directly into the digitiser board. A cord with two phone plugs (one at each end) is supplied for use with the speaker or allows the connection of Walkman-type device into the digitiser. This allows you to record and digitise sounds from portable stereos and compact disc players.
The speaker plugs into the audio port on the back of the IIGS and provides improved, if only mono sound.
Demos
HYPERSTUDIO includes several demonstration stacks which provide ideas for creating your own stacks.
One demo shows the different ways a screen can be "wiped" during transfer from one card to another. Several screen wipes are available, including top to bottom, left to right and fade to black or white.
Another demo displays several buttons, each plays a different sound file from the disk. Another flips through several stack and card ideas, displaying useful background
pictures of notebook pages, address books and Rolodex-type cards.
Clip Art and Sound
One entire disk is devoted to clip art and associated graphics files. From these, you can build backgrounds or snatch icons or other graphics images for use in your own stacks.
Another disk is filled with digitised sound files, ranging from animal noises to bell and chimes and voices.
Stacks For Others
Original distribution of stacks was limited because the HYPERSTUDIO authoring program was required to run them. Legally, this restricted the exchange of stacks to occur between bona-fide owners of the program only. Version 2.1 of HYPERSTUDIO remedies this problem by supplying a "run-time" file HS.Sys16, that is located on the HS.Art disk.
Self-contained "User Disks" can be created by copying this file and any other stacks you wish to distribute.
Although it lacks the scripting language found on HyperCard for the Macintosh (HyperTalk), HYPERSTUDIO offers hypermedia on the IIGS in color and utilizes the sound capabilities of the machine.
Our thanks to TECHFLOW for the review copy.
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Product at a Glance :
HYPERSTUDIO Version 2.1
by Roger Wagner Publishing
1050 Pioneer Way, Suite P
El Cajon, CA 92020, USA
Australian Distributor :
Techflow Pty Ltd.
Phone : (063) 551-988
or (02) 758-2688
Price : $225

THIS CONTENT COPYRIGHT © 2007, APPLE MACINTOSH USERS' GROUP, SYDNEY
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