Bill Atkinson (1951-2025)

Bill Atkinson (1951-2025)

Author: Derek May 21, 2026 Duration: 44:28

Original text from The Complete HyperCard Handbook (Expanded 2nd Edition with HyperCard 1.2 supplement!!!)

Open HyperCard Stacks with just 512K RAM via HyperDA.

If copying HyperCard was such an obvious idea, where did all the AmigaVision productions go? What happened to all the Asymmetrix Toolbook-ware?

David Greelish “Before Macintosh” interviews with Bill Atkinson: Parts 1, 2, 3

Make beautiful Atkinson-dithered images with HyperDither, GraphicConverter (Effects => Dithering => Atkinson) or in your browser with DitherIt! More than you could ever possibly want to read about dithering and an undergrad lecture on Floyd-Steinberg dithering.

Bill Atkinson’s Rolodex, a.k.a. Casady & Greene QuickDEX (v1.4, II).

Bill Atkinson’s 10 Rules for Making Interfaces More Human

Quotes from:

R.I.P. uliwitness, a.k.a. Uli Kusterer, longtime Macintosh programmer and HyperCard enthusiast. We will miss you too.

Fun fact: I recognized Uli’s name when it popped up in the podcast Discord. Back in the late 1990s a friend and I used “Uli’s Panes” as the playlist interface for a classic MacOS MOD player. Remember Uli, HyperCard and Bill with:

Uli’s Moose, an updated version of The Talking Moose for classic MacOS. Uli told me he tried to submit a new version of Mac OS X to the App Store but it was rejected several times and he eventually gave up. Thanks, Apple!


Derek hosts Mac Folklore Radio, a podcast that serves as a warm, nostalgic conversation about the machines that defined personal computing for a generation. This isn't a dry technical history, but rather a collection of stories, memories, and shared experiences centered on the Macintosh ecosystem from its early beige-box days through the colorful iMac era and beyond. Each episode feels like digging through a box of old software manuals and rediscovering the community, the quirks, and the sheer sense of possibility those computers inspired. You'll hear tales of first setups, beloved and baffling peripherals, the games that consumed hours, and the software that felt like magic. It's crafted specifically for those who lived through it-the users, tinkerers, and enthusiasts who remember the hum of a CRT and the distinct scent of a warm motherboard. Tune in for a dose of genuine, fond reminiscence that functions as comfort food for the Apple-centric soul, preserving the personal side of tech history one story at a time. This podcast is a love letter to the culture built around these machines, celebrating the folklore that official manuals never recorded.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Mac Folklore Radio
Podcast Episodes
Interviews with StuffIt Creator Raymond Lau (1996/1998) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:36
Two interviews with StuffIt creator Raymond Lau, conducted during Apple’s darkest days (Maclopedia 1996, AppleWizards 1998). StuffIt Deluxe 2.0 review. Yes, people were already complaining about software bloat in 1991. R…
The Road to Power Macintosh (1994) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:41
The story behind Apple’s big RISC. Written by Steven Levy, The Iconoclast, Macworld, May/June 1994. Watch a special Christmas message from MFR. The Alberta Goat Breeders Association (and the reason for linking to them) H…
folklore.org: Black Wednesday [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:58
A shakeup in Apple II engineering frees up Andy Hertzfeld to work on the Macintosh. Original text from folklore.org. Jef Raskin and Andy Hertzfeld audio excerpts from “The Macintosh at 20” panel hosted at Macworld Boston…
Why Did Apple Kill Newton? (1998) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:44
The Newton MessagePad soap opera from product launch to cancellation, and all that could have been. Check out “Love Notes to Newton” for even more history, interviews, and a great soundtrack. The director, Noah Leon, was…
Scrooge McDuck (1980) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:48
The very first image displayed on the very first prototype Macintosh, an Apple II expansion card with a Motorola 6809E. Original text at folklore.org. Audio excerpts from Andy Hertzfeld’s keynote speech at the O’Reilly O…
MFR Housekeeping 2020 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:33
“Mask ROM” means something a little different in 2020. E-mail your article and topic suggestions to derek at macfolkloreradio.com.
Newton MessagePad 2000 Review (1997) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:02
Surf the Web, deal with e-mail, crunch spreadsheets, write real documents, and keep your life together with this 1.4-pound wonder. Written by Jeff Pittelkau, MacUser June 1997.
The Palmtop Blues (1995) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:33
Of Newton and Magic Link, Marco and Envoy. The Newton and its competition continue to make progress… sort of. Written by Steven Levy, The Iconoclast, Macworld April 1995.
Not Ready for Prime Time (1994) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:32
Newton will be great if it can live down its beginnings. Written by Steven Levy, The Iconoclast, Macworld January 1994. Audio from the Newton TV Commercial Collection.

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