As of the 2.1.1 release, the downloadable "demo" version of MetaCard
will be a fully functional application and multimedia development
environment called the "MetaCard Starter Kit". In place of the old
limitation of not being able to save stacks, this new "light" version
of MetaCard will have a restriction on the length of scripts you can
create with it. This will allow even users of the free version of
MetaCard to develop prototypes, multimedia presentations, and complete
applications that they can distribute to others. It will also allow a
more thorough pre-purchase evaluation of MetaCard's capabilities than
is possible with the current save-disabled distribution.
MetaCard 2.1.1 beta 5, the last scheduled beta test release for 2.1.1
and first beta test release of the new MetaCard Starter Kit
functionality is now available from the directory:
ftp://ftp.metacard.com/MetaCard/2.1.1B5/
In this release, the script length limit is 10 statements per object
(comments, handler names, and if/repeat/switch/end clauses don't count
toward the limit). There are also limits on "start using" stacks (1),
"insert script" scripts (4), and the number of statements you can
execute with a single "do" (5). These limits may be adjusted in
future releases.
There is also a new demo stack (currently named "mcdemo2.mc") in that
FTP directory. This new demo stack has much better graphics and
animation than the old one, and does a much better job of
demonstrating just how easy it is to create applications with
MetaCard.
We welcome any feedback you have on the new demo and your suggestions
about how to improve it. We're also interested in hearing your
reaction to the new "Starter Kit" distribution plan.
Regards,
Scott
***************************************************************
Scott Raney raney@metacard.com http://www.metacard.com
Any sufficiently advanced technology
is virtually indistinguishable from magic -- Clarke's law