2 ms·

Ask HN: Are we returning to the early 80s where users program the apps they use?

2 points by amichail 3y ago

But this time, they would do so with the help of an AI?

themodelplumber 3y ago
I'll believe it when I see a computer named after an agricultural product arrive at my doorstep, along with a 300 page spiral bound book of thousands of shortcut-prompts, each prompt shown next to a visual representation of the app it will build.
k310 3y ago
When HyperCard returns in some fashion. You can run the version 2.4 on an old mac (MacOS9 or early 10) or an via an emulator. http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/macos9osx.html http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/macos9osx.html This person pointed me to it. https://blog.alexseifert.com/2020/06/09/emulating-mac-os-9-on-macos-10-15/ https://blog.alexseifert.com/2020/06/09/emulating-mac-os-9-o... The solution is a pre-made instance of SheepShaver running Mac OS 9.0.4 that includes a number of utilities and other pieces of software. The ROM is also included and the whole bundle is packaged into a simple, runnable application for macOS 10.10 and above. That means, all you have to do is download it, unzip it, move it to your Application folder and run it. Mac OS 9 boots right up and you don’t have to do a thing otherwise. You can find and download this brilliant solution for free on http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/macos9osx.html http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/macos9osx.html. Apple (SJ) apparently didn't know how many in-house applications people built with HyperCard. Some were classified. Others were just proprietary. I wrote XCMDs with CompileIt and HYPERBasic (try finding that one ) that did fun things like plotting, and converting graphics to PDF (as text files). It was fun and rewarding. Discussions can be found below and elsewhere. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30138533#30146989 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30138533#30146989 https://apple.slashdot.org/story/01/03/30/0312203/trying-to-save-hypercard-for-mac-os-x https://apple.slashdot.org/story/01/03/30/0312203/trying-to-... I haven't found a clone of HyperCard that suits my needs. Would be nice.
- RodgerTheGreat 3y ago
  One option is Decker: http://beyondloom.com/decker/ http://beyondloom.com/decker/ Aesthetically, very similar to classic HyperCard. Simple to use, highly portable, completely open-source with no strings attached and no expiration date. It uses a very different scripting language (APL-like rather than xTalk). For fidelity between the native application and the browser-based port, certain features are constrained or missing relative to HyperCard- no analog to XCMDs, for example- but then again it's FOSS, so anyone can hack in new functionality if they have some familiarity with JS or C.
  - k310 3y ago
    Thanks, I hadn't heard of that.
krapp 3y ago
No.

2 points by amichail 3y ago

But this time, they would do so with the help of an AI?

I'll believe it when I see a computer named after an agricultural product arrive at my doorstep, along with a 300 page spiral bound book of thousands of shortcut-prompts, each prompt shown next to a visual representation of the app it will build.

k310 3y ago

When HyperCard returns in some fashion. You can run the version 2.4 on an old mac (MacOS9 or early 10) or an via an emulator. http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/macos9osx.html http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/macos9osx.html This person pointed me to it. https://blog.alexseifert.com/2020/06/09/emulating-mac-os-9-on-macos-10-15/ https://blog.alexseifert.com/2020/06/09/emulating-mac-os-9-o... The solution is a pre-made instance of SheepShaver running Mac OS 9.0.4 that includes a number of utilities and other pieces of software. The ROM is also included and the whole bundle is packaged into a simple, runnable application for macOS 10.10 and above. That means, all you have to do is download it, unzip it, move it to your Application folder and run it. Mac OS 9 boots right up and you don’t have to do a thing otherwise. You can find and download this brilliant solution for free on http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/macos9osx.html http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/macos9osx.html. Apple (SJ) apparently didn't know how many in-house applications people built with HyperCard. Some were classified. Others were just proprietary. I wrote XCMDs with CompileIt and HYPERBasic (try finding that one ) that did fun things like plotting, and converting graphics to PDF (as text files). It was fun and rewarding. Discussions can be found below and elsewhere. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30138533#30146989 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30138533#30146989 https://apple.slashdot.org/story/01/03/30/0312203/trying-to-save-hypercard-for-mac-os-x https://apple.slashdot.org/story/01/03/30/0312203/trying-to-... I haven't found a clone of HyperCard that suits my needs. Would be nice.

RodgerTheGreat 3y ago
One option is Decker: http://beyondloom.com/decker/ http://beyondloom.com/decker/ Aesthetically, very similar to classic HyperCard. Simple to use, highly portable, completely open-source with no strings attached and no expiration date. It uses a very different scripting language (APL-like rather than xTalk). For fidelity between the native application and the browser-based port, certain features are constrained or missing relative to HyperCard- no analog to XCMDs, for example- but then again it's FOSS, so anyone can hack in new functionality if they have some familiarity with JS or C.
- k310 3y ago
  Thanks, I hadn't heard of that.

krapp 3y ago

No.