HyperCard was the original multimedia authoring tool when it first appeared in 1987. For many years Apple bundled it with every new Macintosh. HyperCard was wildly popular with Macintosh users because it made it easy for non-techies to create interactive multimedia documents and even complete database-driven applications without learning complex programming languages and technical protocols.

George Beekman’s HyperCard in a Hurry was, for many years, one of the most popular introductions to HyperCard. The latest edition of the book (version 2.3) was co-published by Wadsworth as a textbook and Peachpit Press as a trade book.

HyperCard in a Hurry was a popular starting point for students and others who wanted to turn their ideas into multimedia presentations. George Beekman taught HyperCard in a Hurry workshops for teachers and students from the East Coast to Alaska. In two of those workshops, Native American children from Oregon used HyperCard to create animated versions of legends from their native cultures. Today students use PowerPoint, HTML, Flash, iMovie, and other tools to do creative multimedia work. All of these tools include features and concepts that HyperCard pioneered.

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