Ben Poole

HyperDesign

Take a look at this site (via Matt Raible.). Be sure to go back at different times of the day. It has a nifty bit of XML / PHP tom-foolery going on that means the banner graphic changes throughout the day. I like. In fact, it reminds me of something similar I did years ago with HyperCard. Ah memories... The HyperCard stack in question was intended to be an interactive story book for kids. It had animated page turns, clickable widgets in the illustrations, etc., etc. The opening page featured a bit of scenery from the place featured in the story, and there were three versions of the piccie (very poor in comparison to Dunstan Orchard’s ninety images!), depending on the system clock when one opened the stack. I was so proud of that. A shame I never got beyond page three, but drawing the pictures by hand mouse in ClarisWorks took it out of me.

Talking of HyperCard (created by the great Bill Atkinson, now a nature photographer), I trust everyone has been reading the Macintosh-related anecdotes at folklore.org? You don’t need to be an Apple fanatic like me to find these stories interesting, believe me.

Uh, but you do have to be a bit of a geek.

Posted at 16:50 on 27 Feb 2004  |  Categories:   |   (6 comments)

Comments

1. Oh wow... (folklore) - do environments like that even exist anymore? It seems a far cry from what most of us experience. Making magic...
   
   Thanks for that link, really cool.
   on 27 Feb 2004 by Colin Pretorius (#)
2. I’d like to think such environments do still exist. It would be awesome if they did. Geek nirvana!
   
   Hand on heart, I’ve come close: a global project that a whole load of people worked extremely hard on. We played hard too
   
   Read every story on the site. Each one is a gem.
   on 27 Feb 2004 by Ben Poole (#)
3. My current gig leans towards that and was a big part of why I chose to do it as opposed to old-fashioned consulting, but life always intrudes (pesky, it is). I've never felt like I've quite got there (it's also not as easy to get as excited about business software
   
   An interesting thing as I read through these, is that one also realises it wasn't complete nirvana - personality clashes, corporatisation and politics getting in the way, how utopia turns sour as innocence is lost (way too poetic, Colin). But I'm sure the memories folks like Andy Hertzfeld carry will always be special, especially knowing what they accomplished.
   
   It amazed me as well that in one of the comments someone mentioned that they have no idea what Burrell Smith (who seems to have been a genius) is up to! Kind of weird to think that these people who made such a huge contribution could ultimately just drop off the radar. After something as intense as that, what do you do with the rest of your life?
   on 28 Feb 2004 by Colin Pretorius (#)
4. Spot on Colin. I’m big enough and ugly enough to realise that life doesn’t throw you this stuff “for free”: going through the full 80-odd tales at folklore.org throws up plenty of nasties... but still. What an amazing thing to be a part of. Better to have lost in love than never to have loved at all eh?
   
   On the subject of Burrell Smith, I totally agree - what happened to him? He set up Radius, with their funky monitors, and that’s all I know.
   on 29 Feb 2004 by Ben Poole (#)
5. I was best friends with Burrell for many years in youth and I cant even find him. As you say after Radius He seemed to have vanished. Scott
   on 03 Oct 2004 by scott fernau (#)
6. My understanding is that Burrell Smith is a somewhat eccentric "street" person in Palo Alto. I honestly don't know if that means he's homeless, or that he just kind of putters around during the day and has some place to go home to at night. No, I haven't seen him personally, but I've talked with a couple of people who have seen him. So, take what I say with the appropriate grain of salt. I can't say with certainty this is true. But I have no reason to doubt it either.
   on 01 Jun 2005 by Anonymous Coward (#)

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