Dust or Magic

Dust or Magic is both an anecdotal history book and an inspirational guide. It is difficult to categorize--it is about multimedia, whether your definition of that is a CD-ROM, a Web site, or an interactive video project. But it is also about the founders of the industry, the pioneers that stretched the boundaries and were able to bring to market products that didn't have a specific audience and yet were hugely successful.

Apple's HyperCard, and its developer Bill Atkinson, serve as a prime example for much of the information cited throughout the book. The focus, though, avoids the invention of the HyperCard in lieu of the difficulties Atkinson faced trying to define his product for consumers, tracing it from conception to approval to delivery.

Dust or Magic introduces the founders of the multimedia industry to many of the young people thinking about entering it; the book sets the record straight for kids who grew up believing Myst spawned the CD-ROM industry, or who envision the Web as the complete manifestation of multimedia.

Bodies that can push pixels we have; project managers of teams we need. Managers that understand where the industry originated so that they can make an educated guess about where it's going can make better decisions during development.

Dust or Magic can put things in perspective if you are new to the business, or refresh your memory if you were around when If Monks Had Macs shipped (1988, in case you're too young.) --Mike Caputo