This post is a tribute to HyperCard, an application program from Apple Macintosh computer that was among the first successful hypermedia systems before the World Wide Web. (This article was posted in Mac.web.id, an Indonesian Apple Mac user group).

Why did I write this tribute ? There were 3 main reasons :

First, my first article about computer application (or computer in general) was about HyperCard and published by InfoKomputer magazine (a very famous computer magazine in Indonesia) in 1991. I was very happy that time because that was my first article published on a well-known professional magazine in Indonesia.

Second, HyperCard was the main tools for scripting for my computer science undergraduate thesis at Faculty of Computer Science - University of Indonesia. It was Hypercard 2.1. In addition to HyperCard, I also used Macromind Director 3.00, Macromind Accelerator, etc. I developed an experimental application for a research in naming problems with participatory design method, in the area of human-computer interaction. I named the application PERAN-AKTIF or Perangkat Lunak Pencarian Nama Menggunakan Perancangan Partisipatif.

Third, my first academic paper that submitted to Kunming International Computer-Aided Software Engineering Symposium 1994 (KICS’94) in Kunming - Yunnan, P. R. China, was a research which used the HyperCard application. This research was in the area of human-computer interaction, and the successor of my bachelor thesis in computer science. I was a research assistant at Computer Science Center University of Indonesia that time, and member of human-computer interaction special interest group.

Furthermore, these are the tributes to HyperCard. I compiled these tributed from various resources in internet :

HyperCard Forgotten, but Not Gone, by : Leander Kahney :

Renault, the French auto giant, reportedly uses HyperCard for its inventory system. The software runs part of the lighting system for the tallest buildings in the world, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. HyperCard is used widely in schools to teach programming concepts and for creating interactive learning materials or class reports. It’s hard to estimate the number of people who still use HyperCard. In July 1999, MacCentral published an article about HyperCard, which attracted a huge response, leading the author to conclude HyperCard was used widely. The International HyperCard Users Group (iHug) estimates there are perhaps 10,000 HyperCard users worldwide.

Richard Wanderman :

HyperCard can be a useful tool for for writing, organizing, and scheduling, and can make a big difference in the lives of people with language and learning differences. Tools such as HyperCard help people compensate for various writing and organizational problems, and that helps them participate in the world of paper, appointments, meetings, and so forth.

HyperCard was killed and burried in 2004.

The above image is linked from Wkipedia.