Now in beta, Rev Mobile will allow deployment to mobile platforms, including iPhone and iPad. You can get started though working with Runrev by downloading the free Revolution Media.

I don’t want to jump on another Snakes on a Plane style  iPad discussion, but I will admit that the iPad is an interesting mobile platform as an extension to the iPhone platform. Revolution is blossoming into an incredible cross-platform development tool already. It already has a powerful 3D engine as well as Valentina DB support.

When you start Revolution 3 for the first time, you’ll notice the brand new Revolution 3 Start Center. Here you can access recently opened projects, documentation, the user forums and more.

The best feature is that you can create your application on one OS and deploy to multiple operating systems. Build in Mac OS X for example, and you can compile for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux – and the applications all look native on all platforms and don’t have that sluggish feel of Java applications.

Runtime Revolution 3 adds several new features, including a new script editor, better online help, a new start center and more.

Mirye Runtime Revolution 3.0 includes the following major improvements:

Mirye Runtime Revolution 3 Script Editor. Mirye Runtime Revolution 3 includes a fast, modern script editing and debugging environment. Quickly access handlers, Errors, Documentation, BreakPoints, Variables and Search Results within a tabbed interface.

Mirye Runtime Revolution Help System. The new Mirye Runtime Revolution Help system includes all previously released materials plus Mirye Runtime Revolution 3 additions. But the improvements don’t stop there! You now have superior navigation and access to articles by subject.

Beautiful, Gradient Vector Objects. Mirye Runtime Revolution has always had built in vector object creation tools – now Mirye Runtime Revolution graphic objects support gradients. Not only can you interactively modify the gradients on objects, you can do this by script.

Multidimensional Arrays. Mirye Runtime Revolution 3 multidimensional arrays makes it far, far easier to work with data of all kinds. It will transform your use of working with XML data with Mirye Runtime Revolution applications.

RevCamp Subscriptions. Order Mirye Runtime Revolution 3 or Mirye Runtime Revolution 3 upgrades and updates and get a Mirye RevCamp subscription. RevCamp includes monthly releases of valuable content assets, tools, services and other features useful to Revolution developers.

Ultra Fast Database Applications. Mirye Runtime Revolution 3 Studio or Higher includes Valentina 3.1 ADK Advanced for Runtime Revolution. Paradigma Software Valentina is the fastest cross-platform database available and ADK advanced includes components for Mac OS X, Linux and Windows deployment, as well as Valentina Studio Admin visual database tool.

Bill Atkinson wrote many of the first applications that were available on the Macintosh computer, including the very popular HyperCard development environment. I took some lightweight notes of that conversation – not word for word notes but just jotted down a few things we talked about. We quickly found common interests in the Northwest, Japan, fractal based art and artificial intelligence.

Bill was a pleasure to talk with – his warmth and intelligence shine without any of the egocentricism you find in many executives in the software industry.

Bill was in the process of getting his PhD when he joined Apple. At the time, there were about 30 employees in the company. I didn’t get the impression that Bill completed his PhD, but he apparently continued with some graduate studies at the University of Washington.

Since leaving Apple, Bill Atkinson has pursued a number of interests, including his great love of natural photography – which you can see in Bill Atkinson Photography. We talked at length about the beauty of the Northwest and the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, a place where Bill has spent much time with his camera.

Bill has published some photography books, however he was very dissatisfied with the state of color display and printing in the United States. In order to go beyond the limitations of color available from US publishers, Bill had to go beyond the borders – to Japan.

In Japan, Bill found publishers not only willing to learn and put into practice the techniques he desired in printing, but a willingness to share that information, even with competitors.

So I had to ask – do you still use HyperCard? Bill still has some stacks that run his photography business – running on a G5 and maintained by his wife. But his involvement in programming revolves around Numenta, a business focused on developing software that simulates the neocortex. Numenta was started by Jeff Hawkins, the man behind both Palm and Handspring.

Numenta had caught my attention about a year prior and Paradigma was accepted into their then closed developer program. Bill was surprised that I knew about Numenta.

Bill believes Numenta represents more than the next step in computing – it has historical significance. Neurons in the human brain fire at the a maximum of 200 per second – and we cannot get around that limitation. Not only can human brain functionality be emulated by a computer, they can go far, far beyond these limits. Numenta is forward looking towards a kind of progeny of humans that will go beyond humans.

So will Bill hop back into programming tools and deliver HyperCard 3? It seems very unlikely. He was very happy to hear that the golden descendant of HyperCard – Runtime Revolution – is prospering and delivered the many modern features that never found their way into HyperCard.

If you are interested in natural photography – stop by Bill Atkinson Photography and pick up his book or prints.

08.05.25 Related: Wired Magazine: What HyperCard Could Have Been