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Apple has [announced](http://www.apple.com/macosx/) that OS X 10.4 Tiger will become available on April 29th (how long until you actually get your copy is another story). For those near an Apple Retail store, you can pick up a copy starting at 6pm. The Automator [page](http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/automator/) has been updated with glossy black graphics.
Only 17 days until we can all start really working with Automator!
Sample Manager to Support Automator
Audiofile Engineering is expected to ship version 2.1 of Sample Manager soon after the release of OS X 10.4 Tiger. Sample Manager is a "full-featured batch audio processor for Mac OS X", and 2.1 will support Automator Actions for all of its processing commands.
Site Updated!
Automator World's migration to WordPress is complete! As you can see, we've spruced up the place a bit, but it should feel more-or-less the same. If you have any problems, questions or comments regarding the update, please leave a comment or use our new contact form.
Note: This site relies heavily upon web standards and .PNG transparency to render correctly. If you are forced to use IE Windows, we feel your pain. If you use it voluntarily, well that's just silly. Use Safari or Firefox. Your eyes will thank you.
iMagine Photo
Yarra Valley Software has released iMagine Photo 2.1.1, an update to their free Applescript-based image automation software.
According to author Kevin Meaney, iMagine Photo "is a tool for processing image files by writing AppleScript scripts. Apple has their own tool called Image Events but iMagine Photo has a much larger range of functionality than Image Events. Image Events is a background only application so you don't see it working, iMagine Photo can run as a normal application or as a background only application, and all processing can be done offscreen or you can choose to display the image while processing if you wish."
iMagine Photo appears to be a quite comprehensive (see the documentation), and anyone who uses Applescript or Applescript Studio might find incredible potential in building powerful image processing applications. Meaney is also working on Automator Actions for iMagine Photo; I look forward to what he comes up with.
The iPhoto Challenge IV
A month has passed since I began the iPhoto Challenge. As promised I have not used iView at all except in relation to these articles. Will I keep using the sluggish, but oddly compelling iPhoto, or go back to the sturdy, if sometimes frustrating iView? Before getting to the verdict, I'm going to wrap up with my some final observations about image editing and export. More »
The iPhoto Challenge III
Welcome to the Machine
To use iPhoto is to submit to the dictatorial constraints of the OS X police state. Forget choice, forget flexibility; it's the Apple Way or the highway. This is Steve Jobs' world, you're just printing books in it. Or so what many critics would have you to believe. In this installment of The iPhoto Challenge (if you're late to class, please catch up with Part I and Part II), I'm going to delve into what was traditionally the most limiting aspect of iPhoto, its file management, and try to assess whether it truly is evil incarnate, or simply misunderstood and seeking love. More »
MacWorld looks at iPhoto 5
MacWorld has a First Look at iPhoto 5. It's a good, if brief, overview of the new features with iPhoto 5, and echoes some of what I have said so far in my iPhoto Challenge series. Part III of the Challenge, covering my experiences with file organization and navigation, should be up in a few days. And I definitely have a few things to say...
The iPhoto Challenge II
It's now a few weeks since I began using iPhoto 5 exclusively, having going cold-turkey from iView (see part I). Where do I stand with my challenge thus far? It's been a bit of a mixed bag, which is pretty much what I expected. I've decided to have each of these "Challenge" updates focus on a specific part of the experience; in Part 2 I'll discuss image importing and some annoying bugs that surfaced quickly after release. Before I get into it, I'd like to address a few points brought up by readers of Part 1. More »
The iPhoto Challenge I
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows
Over the years I've had to deal with many different forms of digital asset management solutions. I've managed big iron, I've wrangled the archaic and show mercy on the weak. But for my personal use, only one application was ever good enough; iView MediaPro (or iView Multimedia as it was originally called). iView was fast, it was feature packed, it was logical. iView was designed by people who understood what users like me need and want out of an image management application. And then came iPhoto; and absolutely nothing changed. More »
DeBabelizer Automates
Equilibrium has announced that the forthcoming DeBabelizer Pro 6 will "enhance the automated functionality of Tiger's new Automator feature". This is great news; DeBabelizer is one of those seriously heavy-duty file processing applications that hardcore imaging geeks swear by, and integrating with Automator shows a solid commitment and support for its potential.
Automator Shuffle?
Whew! Macworld was a doozy today; Steve Jobs introduced the completely unexpected Mac mini (why not "miniMac"? It rolls off the tongue easier), the iPod (nee Curly) Shuffle..great stuff. Jobs also re-demoed Tiger, albeit no mention of Automator-- but that's ok, head on over to see a revamp of their Automator demo. Apple also now has a more comprehensive Developer Connection article, Working with Automator.
Automator UI gets Polished
AppleInsider has screenshots of a recent build of Automator, outlining some user interface improvements since the WWDC build noting "an action menu, reshuffled interface, and a more complete listing of categories and actions. The application now adheres to its "Automator" name, leaving behind the "Pipeline" code name and application icon."
Automator Gets the Bronze!
In a Karlin Associates survey of Macworld readers, Automator came in third place as the most important new feature of Tiger, at 14%, behind 64-bit addressing and Spotlight at number one. One reader responded it's "worth the price all by itself". We wholeheartedly agree, but can't help but wonder if the IOC should review the scores, since we all know Automator is much cooler than Spotlight-right?
For more details on this survey, read the article at Macworld.
Tiger Tracks and Parisian Flacks
TigerTracker has debuted, billing itself as "the world's only resource dedicated to the new Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger". It looks to be a good centralized resource for general Tiger information (which is frustratingly sparse of late).
Speaking of sparse information, a bunch of readers have wondered why Automator news have been slow going. The simple fact is, there is little coming out of the dev community right now, as the WWDC build of Tiger is still the only one in general circulation. We're hoping that a new build is demoed/distributed at Apple Expo Paris at the end of August, which would certainly perk things up a bit.
Xcode 1.5 Released
In Automator-related news, Apple has released Xcode 1.5. While Xcode obviously doesn't yet support the creation of Automator Actions, if you're an Xcode junkie, you will no doubt find the following enhancements quite exciting:
-Dead-code stripping
-Remote debugging
-gcc 3.3 improvements for speed and -fast robustness
-Code completion for Java and AppleScript Subversion source-code control system support
-Native build system support for AppleScript
-Enhanced debugger with memory and globals browsers, as well as the ability to display file static variables
-Faster editor performance
-Ant templates
-Documentation bookmarks
-Speed improvements
UPDATE: For those who griped that Xcode 1.5 was released as segments, a single CD .dmg is now available at the ADC site.