INTRODUCTION

History

bp Nichol developed First Screening on an Apple II computer in the mid 1980s. 
This translation into Macintosh HyperTalk was done at the Knowledge Science 
Institute at the University of Calgary in 1992 and 93.

Operating Instructions

Click the pointing hand (lower right corner) to view First Screening.
To halt animation displays type Ò.Ó (Apple ð Control Key & period). After 
being halted, the stack will go to the ÒtitlesÓ card after pausing for a few 
seconds.
This stack uses primitive real-time animation. The animation will run slower 
if you have other applications running on your Mac.
The stack takes three or more minutes to view.  You should set your screen 
saver program (ÒDarkSide,Ó ÒAfter Dark,Ó ÒPYRO!Ó etc.) so it wonÕt disrupt 
the screening.

Powerbooks

If you are viewing First Screening on a Macintosh Powerbook you may 
experience annoying pauses in the animation. The Powerbook has a mode that 
slows down the processor to save power if there is no input from the user. 
ItÔs possible to turn this mode off from the Portable Control Panel by 
option-clicking on the ÒMinutes Until Automatic SleepÓ string. If your 
Powerbook still pauses, try setting the cursor to watch or busy (click the 
button on the right near the top of this card). If all else fails, keep 
moving the mouse or tapping the Command Key while the animation is in 
progress.

Menubar and Titlebar

If your Mac has a small screen, you may want to hide the menubar and  
titlebar. To do this, click on the buttons at the top right of this card. 
(If your Mac has a very small screen, the titlebar will not be shown 
regardless of the state of the titlebar button.)

Speed

Run time will vary from Mac to Mac. This version of First Screening attempts 
to run faster on slow machines and slower on fast machines. You can make your 
own adjustments using the Speed Control Button on the right of this card.
Running other applications on your Mac at the same time as HyperCard will make 
the animation run slower.  Using darker fonts (and bold) will also slow down 
the animation.  This stack will also run faster off a hard drive than a floppy 
drive.

Cursor

On most Macs the cursor should be set to none. If you are viewing this on a 
Powerbook and finding that the animation pauses, try setting the cursor to watch 
or busy.

Fonts and Bolding

You can select poem fonts and bolding on the right side of this card. At the very 
minimum, your Macintosh should support Geneva, Chicago, and Monaco fonts.
ÒPoem for my FatherÓ works best with fixed-width fonts like Monaco, Courier, 
ÒSystat,Ó or ÒSPSSfont.Ó If a variable-width font  (Times, for example) has been 
selected then ÒPoem for my FatherÓ will be presented in Monaco.

Copyright © 1993 Ellie Nichol

The Publisher
Red Deer College Press
56 Avenue & 32 Street
Box 5005 Red Deer Alberta
Canada T4N 5H5

Credits
Translation from Apple II BASIC to HyperTalkª by J.B. Hohm. Design by J.B. Hohm.
Author photo by Andy Philips.

Aknowledgements
The Translator and Publisher gratefully acknowledge the generous assistance of 
Fred Wah. 
The Publisher gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of the Alberta 
Foundation for the Arts, the Canada Council, the Federal Department of 
Communications, and Red Deer College.

TranslatorÕs Note
bp Nichol did things with an Apple II that cannot be done with a Macintosh. In 
particular, the Apple II scrolling effect (used frequently in the original work) 
is not  easy to translate. HyperTalk does support scrolling text fields but, 
like translating a verb tense from a foreign language with no equivalent English 
verb tense, the move from Apple II to HyperTalk scrolling was difficult and the 
result was awkward. I tried to achieve the BASIC effects using different 
HyperTalk tactics; however, if you were I and I was you, would you expect me to 
trust your translation?  Probably (dare I presume?) not.
J.B. Hohm