Delve into the AppleScript editor and issue some AppleScript commands

As you may already be aware I do like to have my Mac working for me automatically if at all possible. I would much rather spend the time working how to set up an automation than repetitively doing tasks that could be done with a simple click of a button. To that end I have already some good tools on my Mac that I like to use.

I have Hazel which automatically looks after files and folders for me. If I drop picture files or movie files onto the desktop Hazel will open up application for my re-numbers them and move them to another folder. I certainly would not like to have to do that manually on my file by file basis. Also I think that having a clean desktop on your computer is a sign of a clean and perfectly sane mind.

Keyboard Maestro

As part of the writing that I do I often have to do repetitive tasks. One example of this would believe that I have to take a link from Safari and put it into the markdown text of one of my documents. I have managed to get my hands on a Keyboard Maestro macro which does this for my whenever I type in a short keyboard shortcut command. I also have a number of other regularly used automation’s that Keyboard Maestro does for me. Another example of this would be the automatic openings of Dragon Dictate and the application Marked, ready for me to begin writing and all it takes is for a simple press on the F3 key.

Using AppleScript commands or going simple with Automator

I have on many occasions had a look at the application called Automator which has been part of OS X for some time now. It keeps getting better, but I still think that not many people actually use it. I know I prefer to use Hazel for some tasks rather than using Automator. Hazel is just much easier to set up and up until now has been more reliable too. I am not quite ready to give up on Automator yet though, I could be prepared to spend a little more time learning how to get the best from it. I may be more inclined to persevere with Automator if I can also get into using the AppleScript editor, as AppleScript commands and AppleScripts can be included as Automator functions.

Looking for an AppleScript tutorial to learn how to use AppleScript commands

It isn’t too difficult to find one or two tutorials so that you can learn how to use AppleScript. All you need then is the willpower and the time to do the actual learning of the very simple programming language. One of the good things about AppleScript is that the way the language of it works is quite like English. You using which words that are easy to understand in reference to the programming that you’re trying to accomplish. Obviously, this is very helpful when you want to learn AppleScript programming.

Inserting AppleScript commands into the AppleScript editor or AppleScript Studio

Even though you can find many an AppleScript tutorial, you will probably find it useful to also have the AppleScript reference material that you can get from the Apple website. As is often the case with this reference material from Apple, you will find it a little dry and difficult to read. It is helpful though to have the definitive word on AppleScript commands available as you work your way through an AppleScript tutorial.

The latest version of AppleScript has become more powerful and also more complicated with AppleScript Xcode programming. You can get to AppleScript Studio within Xcode. If you do that you will be working with the big boys there and if you can get into it, you will be able to create more contemplative AppleScripts.

No AppleScript editor required – Doug’s AppleScripts

You only need to do a search on the Internet for Doug’s AppleScripts to find an AppleScript resource that will give you a pile of Dougs AppleScripts. You won’t have to learn how to do AppleScript iTunes programming as Doug has already covered it and provided all that good stuff for you. On that site you will also find other AppleScript examples.

Make your own AppleScripts with the AppleScript editor

Even if you download a number of AppleScript examples to get certain Mac automation projects completed, you can also use those examples to help you learn AppleScript. You can read through the programming and learn how to do an AppleScript comment, AppleScript droplet or an AppleScript dialogue box.

It is worth noting that not all applications you have on your Mac will be scriptable using AppleScript. So for example, if you wanted to make an Evernote AppleScript you would need to look through the AppleScript editor library, to see if Evernote was in the list of scriptable applications.

AppleScript commands other applications

Although AppleScript is quite a powerful in what it can do and can create self-contained applications, it is more for using as a way to get various Mac applications to work with each other. If you are going to create a fully fledged Mac application then you will need to dive into Objective-C within Xcode.

Following an AppleScript tutorial

Below you will find a number of links to AppleScript tutorials, both those aimed towards beginners of AppleScript and also for the nerds and geeks of the Apple community. I must be a bit of a geek as I find a certain amount of satisfaction in getting an understanding of how this programming stuff works. I still have a long way to go though before I can proudly wear one of those propeller head hats. I would expect that, when that happens I may be dreaming in AppleScript commands.

• Mac OSX Automation
• Dougs Applescripts
• Applescript commands MacScripter

What it takes to be an iPad developer

Last year I had some time on my hands and thought that it would be a good idea to learn how to be an iPad developer. I had a couple of ideas that I thought would be good to make into IOS applications. Although I am a bit of a geek with a definite technical bent, I have to admit that I struggled with being a programmer after the initial basic stages. I bought a number of books to learn how to do the programming and to be fair I did learn quite a bit. I geeked out like never before and had some fun with Xcode and Objective-C.

The iPad developer diverted

The main reason for wanting to learn iPad programming was the desire to make some money. Since it was introduced, the iPad has been rising and market forces would dictate that making applications for the iPad could be lucrative. The only trouble is, that it takes quite some time to learn how to be good at programming, that it is easy to be diverted into something that would make money a little bit quicker. Maybe it is a little bit easier for these script kiddies that have nothing better to do in between playing games on their Xbox. For me, what I needed in order to find success as a programmer would be a course where I could ask questions of the lecturer.

Learning to be an iPad developer on my old iMac

My iMac is a huge step up from the first personal computer and excellent to do whatever sort of computer work. It was just about in my price range and with the large screen it is good if you want to read iBooks on Mac-based computers. If I had wanted a Mac Mini eBay would have been a good place to look. Can you imagine a comparison between the first computer ever made which would have filled a large room and the tiny, minuscule Mac mini.

The effect of market forces on an iPad developer

When you are coding for the Macintosh OS and even more so for iOS you have to bear in mind that there are lots of people that have decided to have a go at making money with programming. Many have thought that it is like getting an Apple printer, sending some code to it in order to print money. While having a good or even a great idea for an application is a good start, you also need a lot of luck to get your application discovered. Now that there are thousands of applications covering all sorts of computing endeavours, it can be tough to hit the jackpot by being an iPad developer.

Has the fat lady started singing yet?

I still would like to finish off learning how to do programming. It would be excellent to be able to bring to fruition the ideas I had for some iPad applications. Hopefully those ideas will not be realised by somebody else, before I get far enough with my effort to learn how to be an iPad developer. With learning how to develop iPad applications you really have to be quite determined. It can be as tough as learning a new foreign language. Sometimes, I think that Objective-C is about as foreign as you can get.

IPad developer resources

• The Big Nerd Ranch

• The iOS 4 Developer’s Cookbook

• Programming in Objective-C

• iPad developer resources at Apple

Garageband Mac and Garageband for iPad

It is no wonder that Mac users are renowned for their creative abilities, when you have applications like Garageband Mac and also Garageband for iPad. Even if you are not a musician, without a doubt you will be tempted at some point in time to give Garageband Mac a try. Even if you don’t create the next top 10 hit record, you will certainly have a lot of fun playing with the application. Even with just playing, as in messing about you are likely to come up with something that you could listen to without vomiting.

Getting started with Garageband Mac

On opening the application you are given the opportunity to start with a new project, or go with the Magic Garageband or iPhone ringtone. There are two other options which are designed for you if you want to learn to play an instrument called Learn to Play and Lesson Store. So if you want to get serious with Garageband for Mac and learn to be a musician at the same time, then you could do that. Probably, a good start for a non-musician would be to open up Magic Garageband.

Podcasting with Garageband Mac

I have made a large number of podcasts using my Mac and one or two of them were made with Garageband. I stopped using Garageband for making podcasts, because I found that for the podcasts I was making that Amadeus Pro was better for me. I prefer the waveform editing facilities in Amadeus pro because I often have to chop sections out of an audio file. When I do this with Garageband it leaves gaps that need to be closed whereas with Amadeus Pro there are no gaps left. That gives me a much better workflow for that type of audio editing work. For some podcasters using Garageband for Mac would work out fine.

Garageband vs Amadeus Pro

There is also Garageband for iPhone

I have seen Garageband for iPhone used by a proper rock band. They did a promotional video, riding on the New York subway where they filmed themselves performing one of their songs using only their IOS devices as musical instruments. There are a variety of Garageband instruments and this rock band made a name for themselves by using Garageband for iOS. They could have been using Garageband for iPad or iPhone, but there are also many other instruments and apps for musicians to choose from.

The Magic Garageband for Mac

I chose the option of using Magic Garageband Mac to see what I could come up with. You first choose the style of music that you would like to work with from nine possibilities. It would be good to see more musical styles available ,but at least I could choose from rock, funk, reggae and a few others. For this example I decided to go with Roots Rock in Garageband Mac. When you have made your choice The Garageband instruments load up. You can change the genre if you want to and I found that I didn’t like the tune that came with Roots Rock. In fact I found that the Magic Garageband option to be limiting all around and I decided to download all of the extra loops and instruments that were available if you ask for them. It is a download of 1.2GB.

I would much rather go right into Garageband properly and drag instruments and loops onto tracks, making new tracks as I go. Throw on a cool bass track then add some wicked drums and then start rocking with some sweet guitar. Then I would add a voce track over that. It is really easy to keep on messing about with Garageband Mac and the same goes for Garageband for iPad. While all of this is very easy to do and you have the option of using Autotune to make your voice sound better, it is also quite easy to turn it all into something horrible and muddy sounding. Some music in your bones is a helpful attribute even when using Garageband Mac.

How to record your screen with capture software

There are a few reasons and situations and why you might want to know how to record your screen. For example, there may be a video on my websites that you would like to play back at your leisure, including when you are not connected to the Internet. On occasions such as this and it would be sensible to record the video as it is playing and the audio as well, so that you could watch it later.

There will be occasions when you need to grab an image from your screen it could be that you want to see the settings within a dialogue box. You might need to keep a record of an area of screen which shows how an application has failed, perhaps. There could be part of your computer screen that you would like to show to a friend or another member of your family. Maybe you are the tech support person of the family and it is easier to show something with a screen capture rather than explain it. So learn how to screen record with ScreenFLow

How to record your screen for free

Within OS X, there has been for some time the ability to capture the screen included as part of the operating system. Not only that, but there also has been an application called Skitch which also provides this functionality. I have been using Skitch as my preferred way to do a screenshot in Mac. Skitch is a very capable screen capture tool. If you want to know how to record your screen, then first of all go and grab yourself a copy of Skitch. It is a very easy to use and is a quick screen recorder. It is the application to use when you want to do a copy screen and it is a still image that you require.

What to do with your screenshot and do you have used your screen capture tool.

One of the main reasons for using Skitch to record computer screen events on the Mac would be the ease with which you can add things like text and arrows. You can also use drawing tools which are basic, but is perfectly adequate in the most use cases. It won’t be necessary to open up Pixelmator 2 unless you need to combine a couple of images together or do something more complicated.

Best video capture software for the Mac

There is free video capture software included within Mac OS X Lion and also with Snow Leopard. The functions of this video capture software is simple and straightforward. You can save the recorded video and use in iMovie or whatever other video editing software you like to use. For occasional use this free video capture software is just the job.

Better video screen capture Mac

On account of the fact that I create many screencasts for the Wizardgold YouTube channel requirements video capture software with more capability. After trying 2 or 3 software is to record computer screen images for screencasting I have settled on ScreenFlow. Not only is ScreenFlow the best screen capture software it also gives you the ability to edit your captured video.

Editing your video within ScreenFlow

I can edit the video so that it will zoom in and out, add transitions, text and mouse callouts. It is really very versatile and useful and for creating screen casts, there is no better software for the Mac. I have found that I can create quite sophisticated screencast videos using ScreenFlow. It is not an auto screen recorder, but it is easy to start and stop the recording process. The software is made and developed by Telestream is very stable while you are using it and is well supported by the developer. Definitely, the best video capture software out there for the Mac. Now you know how to record your screen with Mac capture software. Can screen flow be used on iPad to edit videos? The answer is yes if you run reflections on your iPad 2 or later and on your Mac so that you can use ScreenFlow to record what is happening. That is how to record screen of your iPad on your Mac. You will be recording your screen just as well as you can record your screen mac apps.

HDR photography tutorial – weirdo HDR image

We have seen them. That strange looking HDR image with the over saturated strange looking colours. All there are those HDR images which are so short that they might cut you, with all the details enhanced and emphasised. There is a well-known photographer on the Internet by the name of trail Radcliffe who goes by the name of Stuck in Customs. Try has made a name for himself with the HDR image producing some stunning looking photographs from all around the world. Some of these images from Iceland are particularly amazing. Even if we can’t all have the opportunity to travel around the world in order to make amazing photography HDR style, we can still learn how to make the HDR image. If you check out the website for Stuck in Customs you will be to find a HDR photography tutorial. This will answer all of your questions about what is HDR photography.

What is HD photography?

Basically with the HDR photography you are extending the visual range of your photograph. Usually the way to do this is to take 3 to 5 shots of the image with the exposures bracketed. So you will have one photograph where the image is overexposed, another photo where the image is underexposed and one where the image is correct in terms of exposure. Then you will use software such as the hdrsoft photomatix pro to merge these photos together. You will then have a photograph which is your HDR image, giving you more visual information in the shadows and the highlights.

Easy does it with photography HDR

Judging by the many examples of the HDR image around the Internet you’ll understand that it is quite easy to overdo it. While the HDR image is always going to be a little bit strange to the eye and more a piece of photographic art than a faithful rendition of your natural scene, there is no need for it to be completely stupid looking. Fortunately with the HDR software that many people use called Photomatix Pro, there are settings which allow you to achieve a wide range of effects. You can still go for something that might look silly, but you can also do something that will make a great looking HDR image.

The first stage of the process is to choose whether you want to go for enhanced details or a fusion style of HDR image. Once you have made that decision you will be presented with a variety of choices in the form of sliders and switches that will affect your final image. Even without using a HDR photography tutorial you will soon find some favourites within the style of photograph that you can create. When you start using Photomatix Pro you will more than likely use all of the different possibilities available before finding some combinations that suits your photographs best. Practice using the Photomatix Pro application and you will soon be able to make your own HDR photography how to video.

There are no rules for making that HDR image

Just as there are all sorts of different images that you can create using your camera, there are as many and more types of photographer. Just remember that the images that you are making, your HDR image, is your work of art. You don’t have to be put off by the rigidly purist naturalistic photographer that will without a doubt, laugh at your bright coloured photos. You have the right to tell anybody else to go and stuff themselves and do it the way that you want to. So off you go to get your HDR application, HDRsoft Photomatix Pro and start fiddling with those dials.

More HDR photography how to.

When you are taking your photos with your camera, if you are shooting raw then you may not need to take the bracketed multiple photos. You may find with many of your photos that you can put them into Photomatix Pro singly and still be able to create your HDR image. There will be enough visual information within the raw photograph to do what you want.

I usually go for the three bracketed images, but I have also used a set of five images. I have also found that on occasions I can get the sort of effects that I’m looking for that is not strictly an HDR image. This can be done within your photo editing software, such as Pixelmator and sometimes also within iPhoto, LightRoom or Aperture. This is going to be more possible when you are shooting raw photos. Don’t forget to look at the Stuck in Customs website.

Modern times will make your head explode

In days of old when knights were bold and the Internet wasn’t invented, the main sources of incoming information, other than school would be the television, gossip and maybe the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Of course before television there was the radio, before the radio there was sitting around the fire, talking to each other. Now we have to endure or enjoy many more hours of television and even more so, have information coming to us thick and fast through the Internet. Sometimes you might think that there is too much information, that you could never keep it all inside your brain and your head, just might explode.

Read it Later Service – It’s coming from all directions

There has been an explosion also, in terms of the data coming in and going out in the realm of mobile computing. From all sorts of phones, whether they be Android, iPhone or whatever, you have information coming in from Facebook, Twitter, all manner of webpages and also over various other applications. Another problem is that there are times when you are trying to find out about a certain subject and you stumble upon other information that you also want to keep for later. You could be trying to find out about the latest video cameras when you see a link that takes you to another website about something altogether different and unrelated. At that fork in the road you have to decide whether to stay with the subject that you started with, or go down the rat run that has presented itself to you. Either way you stand the chance of forgetting to go back to one or other of the areas of subject matter you were researching.

It’s Twitter, Facebook and everything else

Many tweets that you see within your Twitter application will have links attached to them and if you are using an application that like Tweetbot you have the opportunity of using a service that will let you save that tweet or the link within the tweet for reading at a later time. The services that we are talking about here, are Read It Later, Readability and Instapaper. These are developments and improvements upon bookmarking services such as Delicious or Digg, that allowed you to bookmark webpages so that you could remember where they were and what they were about, or for you to go back to later.

Instapaper, Readability and Read It Later

Instapaper is perhaps the most well-known of these services and it is very easy for you to mark a page to be read later by tapping on a bookmarklet that you have already placed in the toolbar of your web browser. Now there is also an application for your smart phone or for your iPad, where everything that you have marked for reading later will appear. So if you see a tweet in Tweetbot that you want to mark to read for later you will be able to skim through the iPad or iPhone application and get to that information or data. It all gets synchronised, so it doesn’t matter whether you first saw it on your mobile device or whether it was on your desktop computer, you will have one place to go to get all your stuff. When you are sitting at your desktop computer or your laptop, then you can get at the information by logging into the website of your read it later service, whichever one you use.

An application to use on your desktop computer

With the service from Read It Later there is an application that you can get from the Mac App Store that collates all of your stored information. It is a very simple application with the list in a pane to the left and the information in a window to the right. What is particularly nice about an application like this is that it strips out all of the non-essential gunk from the website, so that you have just the text and the main images of the article. You can still click to go to the webpage if you wish. So that is another reason why you might send data to your Instapaper, Readability or Read It Later service, to clean up cluttered pages.

Getting it in and getting it out

There are tools available in web browsers and within other applications that will give you one click, or perhaps two, to collate the data into your service. Often this will be a bookmarklet although it could, quite likely be an extension application for your browser. I like the Read It Later extension that I use in the Google Chrome browser, as it also tells me how many items I have stored that are unread, as a little badge on the icon for the extension in the toolbar. With some of the services you will find that there are one or two, maybe even more different extensions that you can choose from. I picked one at random for Readability and also for Read it Later service and I found that both of them worked without giving me any problems.

Read it Later Service - More ways to get it in

Some of the services give you a special e-mail address that you can use to send either a link or a document, that will go into your Read It Later queue of information. If you are using an application such as Flipboard or other news based application like the app from The Guardian newspaper or National Post, then these applications have taken advantage of the API available from Instapaper. The same thing happens as well with applications such as Net Newswire and The Early Edition.

Getting it out again

Like I said, I prefer a service that gives me an application that I can use on my desktop or laptop computer. It is also very handy to have native applications for use on mobile technology. I have downloaded the free apps available for Readability and Read It Later, on to my iPad and iPhone. Another way to get out your content will be to have information transferred out, to your Kindle or Kindle app on the iPad. This works better for longer texts and you may find also that there are surcharges, if you set it up for wireless delivery. The Kindle is a super device for reading stuff when you are on a bright sunny environment, such as on the beach. So could be a great way to get at your Read it Later content.

Which one do I like?

Instapaper is probably the better all-round service with more options for getting information in and also for getting the information out. With more tools made available from Instapaper and also integration with other applications. The service doesn’t cost anything unless you want to have the Instapaper app on your IOS device and that will cost you €3.99.

I particularly like Read It Later Service because it offers me the application that I can use on my Mac desktop. Seeing as I do most of my computing at my desk, you can understand perhaps why Read It Later suits me best. There is also a free version of an application for iOS and a paid version. I couldn’t tell you what are the differences between the two at present. Readability also has free and paid for options for mobile computing. It is not just a mac service either.

Now it is up to you to choose

Which one suits you better depends upon your personal requirements, so that is down to which apps you are likely to want to collect stuff from. If you want to do that from a larger number of applications, then you might find that Instapaper is the one for you and you won’t mind paying the €3.99 for the iOS application. Then again, it may be that your needs are easier satisfied and one of the other two applications that you can use without cost will be all that you need.

• Read it Later
• Readability
• Instapaper