Hypertext News & Information

1. To disseminate practical technical information concerning hypertext to you in your role as developers or managers of documentation projects.
   
   
2. To disseminate general information concerning hypertext to you in your role (along with the rest of us) as information consumers in the midst of a revolution with huge social, economic, and business impact.
   
   
3. To demonstrate that we know something about items #1 and #2 above. If that demonstration leads to some sort of relationship (a contract, a collaboration, or a dialog) -- we'll be entirely satisfied.

The intended audiences of the newsletter are:

• Colorado clients and prospective clients;
• local and national colleagues;
• citizens anywhere who are interested in the impact of hypertext on their lives.

Because hypertext is a medium for technical and reference material, we'll keep the writing sparse, rigidly organized, and formatted so you can retrieve information quickly. (This HTML version should be even more effective as a quick-reference document, because of the power of links.) The organization of each issue will be similar: a note from one or both of us, a general article, late-breaking news, technical tips regarding hypertext and/or a review, and a calendar of events.

• Paper has better resolution than a screen, so detailed graphics (such as schematics) show up better.
• Paper folds out, so large graphics (such as blueprints) don't have to be reduced.
• Print is linear, which is important if you're trying to present an argument (or spin a good yarn).
• Paper is generally more portable, so you can read in the field (or in bed).

• It's immediate and interactive: the see-reference is accessed with a mouse click, not a trip to the library; the purchase order is executed online in seconds, rather than after hours in a store. (Downside: your email flame is sent while you're still fuming mad.)
• It's no more expensive or time consuming to produce than print, and much cheaper and faster to revise.
• It can address multiple audiences by allowing them to choose the type or complexity of information they want.
• It can include sound and video. (A book simply can't reproduce the sound of a thrust bearing about to fail; a still photograph can't adequately show how a skier performs a telemark.)
• It can borrow from other sources by linking to them.

1. Ver. 1.0 was released on time and is relatively stable – but it isn't as full-featured as we had hoped. In order to meet the deadline, implementation of the following features has been delayed:
   • Information type filters in the index (they're already in the ToC);

     Note:

     Information types is going to be wonderfully powerful when fully implemented.

   • Graphics and formatted text in popups (ASCII text is already in);
   • Keyword indexing.
2. Ver. 1.5 will accompany IE4, probably late this year [1997].
3. Ver. 2.0 will be in Windows98 (or will be released separately if the two products aren't ready together).

   Note:

   Between 1.0 and 1.5, and between 1.5 and 2.0, there are a lot of numbers available for bug fix releases.

4. HTMLHelp will require a viewer; only IE 3.02 currently supports it. Both the program and the viewer can be downloaded from:  www.microsoft.com/workshop/author/htmlhelp/default.htm
5. Because of all of the above, HTMLHelp projects will be difficult to produce prior to mid-1998.