I'm curious how interested everyone would be in a developer preview
release of MetaCard for OS X DP 4. Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at the
keynote address of Apple's WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference):
"For those developers that have been porting their Mac OS X apps already,
we thank you. It hasn't been the easiest thing living with our earlier
releases with more bugs, less completeness, and all of you developers who
are just starting now might think, 'Oh, I'm glad I didn't start then.'
But remember one thing: they are ahead of you. It is now time to start.
There are no more reasons not to be developing on X. You should take your
development on 9 and move it instantly over to X as of now because the
train is leaving the station. The time is now -- the time is now."
And
"You are our partners in this, and it is now time to move your apps over
to it, so that we can all leave the station together this fall and
towards the end of this year when we are going to put everything we have
behind marketing Mac OS X. Those truly great apps that are ready for Mac
OS X, we are going to make poster children for Mac OS X. We're going to
throw a lot of co-marketing dollars behind them. It would be nice if
yours was one of them."
The opportunity I see here, is that HyperCard is synonymous with Apple.
They may have let it languish, but they've repeatedly denied that they're
discontinuing it. The release of Mac OS X will be the death of HyperCard.
It's time for a passing of the torch:
HyperCard is dead! Long live MetaCard!
Think about what Steve Jobs is saying above. They want carbon apps for OS
X when it comes out. They _need_ carbon apps. And _nothing_ creates
applications faster than MetaCard. With a concerted effort, a significant
percentage of of the applications available for OS X at launch could be
MetaCard applications. I'm reminded of the switch to PowerPC eight years
ago. It was the change in processor that allowed Metrowerks to step in,
clean Symantec's clock, and since then they've _owned_ the Mac
development market. MetaCard has a somewhat similar opportunity now, but
the window is only open so long.
Revolution will provide the interface Mac/HyperCard users look for in
time for OS X, but not in time to develop applications for its release.
We need MetaCard for OS X now. REALsoftware is already making available a
version of REALbasic for OS X--so how about MetaCard, everyone?
Would you be interested? Would you develop for it?
Geoff
Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/metacard%40lists.best.com/
Info: http://www.xworlds.com/metacard/mailinglist.htm
Please send bug reports to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, not this list.
