tkt8763-01: Fwd: hyperstudio: Announcement (fwd)

["Larry S. Anderson -- NCTP" <lsa1@ra.msstate.edu>]

I'm forwarding this entire message to all of you, since Jay Sandlin sent
you a forwarded message from Mark Rice.  I hope you read this message and
sense the acute ire that is building among HyperStudio users in the field.

Jay, I hope you will forward the message contained herein to the Tech
Coordinators list so they will have a slightly more insightful message
than the one originated by Mark Rice.

In Mark's message, he seemed to indicate that things with HyperStudio (the
software) will get better and better, even though Roger Wagner won't be
involved with the software or the company.  While I appreciate Mark's
professional demeanor, please let me tell all of you something.....
  HYPERSTUDIO WITHOUT ROGER WAGNER IS LIKE....
      ...THE AUTOMOBILE WITHOUT HENRY FORD
      ...THE ELECTRIC LIGHT BULB WITHOUT THOMAS EDISON
      ...THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WITHOUT JOHN HANCOCK
      ...MOVABLE TYPE WITHOUT GUTENBURG!!!
  (all caps intentional)

It is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to separate Roger Wagner from HyperStudio.
HyperStudio is not just a piece of neat software.  It is super neat
software, but without Roger, it's just not the same!  I believe, fully,
that there will be such a phenomenal veritable resonance created among
education users of HyperStudio that Knowledge Adventure will think they
are in the midst of an earthquake that will make the San Francisco
earthquake of a few years back seem like a little tickle!  It's up to us,
folks.

Now, this is the pure truth.....Roger Wagner has stood by us all at times
when we really needed him.  He has given and given and given to us so many
of those things that made all the difference in the way students learn.
The thing I appreciate about Roger Wagner is the purity of his motives.
He is a nice person....yes.  But, he has a deep, pure, sincere, committed
heart to aid those whose opportunity it is to lead young minds through the
labyrinth of learning...and to give them resources they need to make that
job a whole lot easier.

It's time to rally around Roger!!!  It's time to come to his rescue, much
as he has come to ours on numerous occasions!  If this takes boycotting
Knowledge Adventure and the more parent companies until they do something
right, ..... so be it!  If this takes drastic, dramatic action, let's not
be timid...as long as we are doing things on the basis of principle and
right!  I am reminded of this quote:
  "Evil thrives when good men do nothing!!"

Let's not do nothing!  Let's make our voices heard!  We should be sending
a tumultously loud message to Knowledge Adventure that says, "WHAT??????
EXCUSE ME!  WHAT DID YOU SAY???????"  After all, hasn't Roger worked for
lo, these many years, to make HyperStudio OURS?  I think he would say the
software belongs to the thousands around the world who use it...and not to
him.  But, it is precisely that spirit which needs to survive and thrive.

So, it's time to read...then take action.  It's not time to smile about
this and say, "Oh, it's just too bad about Roger and Maureen, but don't
worry....HyperStudio will be fine, because Knowledge Adventure will
continue to support it."  Hmmmm.  That sounds like something Bill Gates
would say, doesn't it??????  I suspect KA's idea of support and Roger
Wagner's idea of support can be found in totally different dictionaries!

While it may sound like I'm bashing Knowledge Adventure, I really don't
intend to do so; I just wish to bash the idiot who thought up such a
phenomenally cruel hoax to pull on all of us...and who was so busy
"counting beans" that he didn't even bother to consider the desires of the
users in the field.  That person (or those persons) don't really care
about us; if they did, they would never have gone through with such a
sinister, diabolic act!

Larry S. Anderson, Ed.D.                              LSA1@Ra.MsState.Edu
Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Technology & Education       Voice: (662) 325-2281
Founder, National Center for Technology Planning      Fax: (662) 325-7599
                    Mississippi State University
Chair, Council for Education Technology              State of Mississippi
         My personal home page URL-- http://www2.msstate.edu/~lsa1
                    NCTP web page -- http://www.nctp.com

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 12:19:40 EDT
From: BBracey@aol.com
To: YLJenkins@aol.com
Subject: Fwd: hyperstudio: Announcement

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• To: Recipient List Suppressed:;
• Subject: hyperstudio: Announcement
• From: Chris Carey <careyc@ocps.k12.fl.us>
• Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 11:19:35 -0400

Didn't know if you guys subscribe to this list - so I thought I would
forward this message of Bill Lynn's.  I heard that both HyperStudio and
SiteCentral will be folded over into the Knowledge Adventure product line.
Later
Chris
>X-Authentication-Warning: voyager.informns.k12.mn.us: gopher set sender to
>owner-hyperstudio@informns.k12.mn.us using -f
>Subject: hyperstudio: Announcement
>Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 08:20:54 -0400
>From: Bill Lynn <hsjournal@hsj.com>
>To: "HyperLogo List" <hyperlogo@topica.com>,
>        "HyperStudio listserv" <HyperStudio@informns.k12.mn.us>
>Mime-Version: 1.0
>X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by informns.k12.mn.us
>id HAA08735
>Sender: owner-hyperstudio@informns.k12.mn.us
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>X-MIME-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by informns.k12.mn.us
>id HAB08849
>
>In a bizarre twist of fate, Havas Interactive, the parent company of
>Roger Wagner Publishing, Inc, decided to celebrate the 10th anniversary
>of HyperStudio by abruptly shuttling down RWP operations in El Cajon, CA
>and disassociating Roger Wagner from the product that he pioneered over
>the past decade. Many of you may know that Roger sold HyperStudio to
>Cendant last year and that Cendant later sold their software division to
>Havas.
>
>The shut down came completely by surprise on Monday, July 19. 1999 as
>Roger and other members of his staff were scheduled to meet with
>representatives of Knowledge Adventure, another Havas company who had
>been supervising RWP at a distance since the sale to Cendant, to discuss
>the "three year plan." An informed source reports that half an hour prior
>to the meeting, representatives of Knowledge Adventure, accompanied by a
>team of security guards, arrived at the RWP offices and escorted all
>employees out of the building. They were told not to touch anything and
>to leave their computers running. Following a meeting with Roger and Pam
>Wagner and Maureen Gross, employees were allowed to reenter the building
>and collect their personal belongings. The next day, each employee was
>interviewed. A few were offered positions with Knowledge Adventure in
>Torrance, CA and the rest were fired.
>
>News of the take over came as a complete shock to members of the
>HyperStudio community, and particularly to those of us who had spent the
>previous week celebrating the 10th anniversary of HyperStudio at the 7th
>Annual HyperStudio Festival in San Diego.
>
>On a personal note, I would like to extend my sincerest regrets to Roger,
>Pam, Addy and all of the RWP gang and wish them the best of luck in their
>future endeavors.
>
>(Pam - I hope Garland's boa constrictor bit one of the Knowledge
>Adventure people on the ass.)
>
>Cheers... Bill Lynn, Webmaster
>HyperStudio Journal on the Web
>

Chris Carey
Instructional Technology Resource Teacher
Professional Development Services
Instructional Technology Group
Orange County Public Schools
445 West Amelia Street
Orlando, FL 32801
careyc@ocps.k12.fl.us

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