Brazil wins, however: The price of one MacBook Pro 17″ there buys you two identical models in the US. It’s the same with other Apple products, so if you can’t live without your Apple fix, you better move to another country.

I’d take the caipirinhas and the beaches, thank you very much. [cmyplay—Thanks]

You can actually download a trial version yourself before you hand over your $50. Keep in mind that you’ll need to have a machine with one of these processors in order for this to work: Intel Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, i7 or Xeon Nehalem. We haven’t tested Rebel EFI, so we can’t say how well it works. Let us know if you’ve had luck with it. [Psystar via LoopInSight]

You’ve seen us give this warning before, and there are only so many ways to say it or come up with a clever title But here it is: ultrasn0w users must stay away from any firmware updates past 3.0 (including today’s 3.1 beta) until we release the tools that let you update the firmware without updating the baseband. For most phones out there, baseband updates are irreversible and you’ll lose ultrasn0w.

The 3.0 jailbreak was one of those (rare) times where both the jailbreak and the unlock coincided (the only other time was 2.2). It’s important that people realize that *most* firmware releases aren’t like that, and you need to take steps (via the tools) to separate the firmware update from its included baseband update.

This warning does not apply to the iPhone 2G, which uses BootNeuter for the unlock, not ultrasn0w.

List of new features:

- Non-destructive video editing now gives you the option to trim your clip then “Save as copy…” rather then replacing the original clip.
- Voice Control now works over Bluetooth
- iPhone vibrates when moving icons
- Updated AT&T profile to 4.2
- Updated modem firmware to 5.08.01
- Improvements to OpenGL and Quartz.
- APIs to allow third party apps to access videos and edit them.
- MMS buttons are back in the Messages app for AT&T customers but still don’t work
- Copy & Paste functions also work in the address book as well as in the numeric keypad of the phone application.
- Videos can be saved from e-mail attachments and stored.
- Find My iPhone feature, the audio alert Blasts at full volume regardless of what the ringer volume is set to.
- It does NOT fix the high pitched noise issue, I still hear it when locking my phone.

ScreenShots

Thanks to gadgetsonthego.net, theiphoneblog.com, iclarified.com, iphoneblog.de & blog.iphone-dev.org for all the info.

On Tuesday evening they will do a live demo of the new yellowsn0w carrier unlock working on official 3.0 firmware, just before the big Apple release. While jailbreaking is already possible on 3.0, this is good news for would-be unlockers with an iPhone 3G, though those going for the 3GS will have to wait a bit longer. [DevTeamBlog via TheModShop—Thanks, Dylan!]

If you are an experienced professional, chances are you have a good set of tools and a work process that you repeat on a daily basis to handle your work. That’s good; it’s how you become more productive, and become an expert. But with repetitive processes come repetitive mechanical work. Whether it’s opening a file in Photoshop to change the format or adding an iCal to-do item based on an email you received, these little tasks can be streamlined. That’s the purpose of AppleScripts.

AppleScript is a scripting language developed by Apple to help people automate their work processes on the Mac operating system. It accomplishes this by exposing every element of the system’s applications as an object in an extremely simple, English-like language. AppleScript is to the Mac OS as JavaScript is to browsers.

Quite a few AppleScripts are available on the Web, ready for you to use, so you don’t even need to look at their code. This article presents you with 17 of the most useful ones.

If you’re interested in learning this language, here are some good resources to get started:

• Official AppleScript Website
  Apple’s page on AppleScript.
• AppleScript Language Guide
  Apple’s in-depth guide to AppleScript.
• MacScripter
  The greatest AppleScript forum.
• Learning AppleScript
  Macworld’s article on the fundamentals of writing AppleScripts.
• AppleScript Users
  AppleScript Mailing List.

First, Where To Put Your AppleScripts

After you download a script, you have to know where to put it to start using it. For this purpose, let’s say that there are three different kinds of AppleScripts, each of which is used for a different purpose.

Simple Scripts

You put these scripts in a special folder and call them when you need them. You can invoke them just by double clicking on them, but calling them contextually is a lot more effective. Using the Script Menu is one way to achieve this.

To activate the Script Menu, first open the AppleScript Utility app in the /Applications/AppleScript folder and check “Show Script Menu in menu bar.”

The Script Menu will show a list of AppleScripts that come with Mac OS X, plus your application-specific scripts. To add a script to an application, simply put it in ~/Library/Scripts/Applications/<NAME_OF_THE_APPLICATION>. If that folder doesn’t exist, you can create it.

For example, if you had a Safari AppleScript, you’d put it in ~/Library/Scripts/Applications/Safari. From then on, if you clicked the Script Menu when Safari was active, your script would appear at the top of the list for you to use.

Droplets

Droplets are AppleScripts that live in the Finder’s toolbar. To use it, all you need to do is drop a file or folder into it. This is very useful for when a script affects a file or the contents of a folder, because all you have to do is drop the target of the action onto the script’s icon.

To “install” a Droplet, first save it in a folder of your choosing: ~/Library/Scripts/Droplets is a good place. Then just drag the script to the Finder’s toolbar.

Folder Actions

Folder Actions are AppleScripts that are “attached” to a folder. They are executed every time you perform an action with that folder. Folder Actions can get triggered every time you add a file to a folder, remove a file, modify its items, etc. The behavior depends on how the script works, but you can imagine how useful that would be.

To add a Folder Action to a folder, right-click it to bring up the contextual menu, and click Attach a Folder Action. The default location for Folder Action scripts is /Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts, but if you want to keep all your custom-installed scripts in one place, ~/Library/Scripts/Folder Actions is a good place to keep them.

Multimedia Processing

1. ConvertImage

This is a great example of how Droplets are useful. Just drop an image file into ConvertImage, and you will be prompted to choose from a list of file formats. Pick a format, and it saves it in the same folder as your original file.

ConvertImage
Type: Droplet
Requirements: OS X 10.4+, Image Events

2. QuickTime to Photoshop

Exports QuickTime frames directly to Photoshop. All you have to do is pause a video at the frame that you want to export, and then invoke the script. If Photoshop is closed, the script will activate it for you. After it imports the frame, it will ask you if you want another frame from the QuickTime file.

QuickTime to Photoshop
Type: Simple Script
Requirements: Adobe Photoshop CS4

3. iPhoto to Photoshop

This opens the currently selected iPhoto image in Photoshop. It is a simple automation leap that gets you where you want without intervening steps.

iPhoto to Photoshop
Type: Simple Script
Requirements: Adobe Photoshop CS4

4. Rampage

Drop an image file or a folder with image files in Rampage, and you get a text file with a lot of information about the file(s): size, resolution, color mode, ICC Profiles and more. It also reports warnings and errors about the file(s). The script currently supports TIFF, GIF, BMP, PNG and JPG image formats.

Rampage
Type: Droplet
Requirements: None

5. SWF Extractor

This extract SWF files from Flash projectors (Windows or Mac executables) that are dropped into it.

SWF Extractor
Type: Droplet
Requirements: None

Safari Tools

6. Safari Web Site Validator

Safari Web Site Validator gets the HTML or XHTML from the current active Safari tab and sends the code to the W3C Markup Validation Service in a separate window. It then asks if you want to validate the page’s CSS file as well.

Safari Web Site Validator
Type: Simple Scripts
Requirements: OS X 10.4.4+

7. Tiny URL

Despite its name, the Tiny URL script doesn’t use the TinyUrl application. It’s based on another URL shortening service called Metamark. It goes to the currently active Safari tab and puts the shortened URL directly in your clipboard.

Tiny URL
Type: Simple Scripts
Requirements: None

8. Safari Cleannup

This automates the deletion of Safari icons and cache and plist files. Getting rid of these extraneous files can boost Safari’s performance.

Safari Cleannup
Type: Simple Scripts
Requirements: None

9. Scour Web Page

This script scans the current Web page in Safari looking for MP3, AAC and PDF media files. If it finds multiple files, it prompts you to select the ones you want to keep, and then downloads them and adds them to your iTunes media library.

Scour Web Page
Type: Simple Scripts
Requirements: None

Mail And iCal

10. Fuhgeddaboutit

In Sopranos-speak, fuhgeddaboutit means “forget about it.” Indeed, one of the purposes of GTD is to free your brain from having to keep track of everything. Just relax, forget about it now and be confident that you’ll remember when you need to.

This script make that possible by making iCal To-Do items from an Apple Mail email. Just invoke the script with the email you want, and it will create an iCal item with a due time set relative to the email’s arrival.

Fuhgeddaboutit
Type: Simple Scripts
Requirements: None

11. Send Attachment Droplet

Just drop a file into this Droplet, and it will make a new Mail email with the file as an attachment and the subject set to the file’s name. If the Mail app is closed, the script will open it for you.

Send Attatchment Droplet
Type: Droplet
Requirements: None

12. Remove iCal Duplicates

When you sync and share many calendars in iCal, you often end up with a lot of duplicates. This simple script helps you remove those. But once you ask it to delete duplicates, there’s no undoing. So, be sure to back up your calendar first.

Remove iCal Duplicates
Type: Simple Script
Requirements: None

13. iCalculate

Invoke this script, create an iCal calendar item and start date, and it will generate a text file reporting how many hours you have worked on the project. It even calculates the total cost of the project, based on the hourly rate your specify. Especially suited to freelancers.

iCalculate
Type: Simple Script
Requirements: None

Finder Utilities

14. Pack’em

Pack’em takes one or more items from Finder, packs them with tar, compresses them with either bzip2 or gzip and saves the compressed archive in the same folder as the original items. A great companion to the Send Attachment Droplet. With these two AppleScripts, you can compress and email a set of files or folders directly from Finder.

Pack’em
Type: Simple Script
Requirements: None

15. Rename Files

Just drop a folder into this Droplet, and it will give you a lot of options to batch process its contents. You can rename the files according to names specified in a particular text file or change the files individually. Either way accomplishes your task much faster than by changing every file name independently.

Rename Files
Type: Droplet
Requirements: None

16. Websafe Name

If you develop websites, you are probably accustomed to giving your files Web-friendly names. But there are times when you have to upload a whole set of files sent to you by a client, or upload things that you weren’t expecting to use. Websafe Name is very useful for this kind of task. You don’t even need to look through the list of files; just drop them into this script, and it will rename them to something Web-friendly.

Websafe Name
Type: Droplet
Requirements: None

17. Tagger

The “folder” is a computer interface paradigm that is a very powerful way to organize files. But it’s neither the only paradigm nor the best solution for all scenarios. Many sub-folders nested deep is a sign that a folder structure may not be appropriate. Another great paradigm, coming straight from the Web, is “tagging.” You keep all your files flat in a common location, but group them by tags so that you can retrieve or filter them by tags. It so happens that the Mac OS X has very good support for this. You can use Spotlight Comments to tag files and Smart Folders to dynamically retrieve them. All you need now is an easy way to do this, and this Folder Action does exactly that.

To use Tagger, attach it to a folder. Then, every time you add a file to that folder via Finder, the script will prompt you to tag that file. It also automatically creates Smart Folders for all of your defined tags.

Tagger
Type: Folder Action
Requirements: None

Further Resources

If you like the scripts above, you may also be interested in the following articles and related resources:

• ScriptBuilders
  A forum in which script authors post their scripts.
• Doug’s AppleScripts for iTunes
  A huge collection of AppleScripts for iTunes.
• Macs in Chemistry
  AppleScripts aimed at scientists.
• Studio Log
  Scripts and discussion on how to make them.
• AppleScripts on Github
  A search list of AppleScripts hosted on Github

Should Smashing Magazine publish more Mac-related posts?

Please let us know in the poll below and in the comments to this post!

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About the Author

Diogo Terror is a Web developer doing PHP work when the sun is up and Ruby on Rails when it gets dark. In between, he writes about Macs and posts random thoughts on Twitter.

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Post tags: apple, applescripts, mac

The process works by installing an app onto your iPhone that's not quite jailbreaking, but is enough to allow those not-quite-official applications to get on there. If you gave us the choice of paying $7 or running jailbreak on our phones—which is fairly easy as long as you have some tech knowledge—we'd choose real jailbreak. [Ripdev via 9 to 5 Mac]

Apple’s latest round of updates have seen an immense number of notable improvements and features.

Let’s go through the new features, grab a coffee…this may take a while.

Cut, Copy and Paste
You can also copy and paste web content as well as regular text you might be typing. If you didn’t mean to paste something, shake your phone in order to Undo (or Redo) your paste.

MMS
You can send and receive Photos right over the network. Contacts (VCard). Audio files. Or your location. No word about video yet though.

Mail Search
You can now search inside all of the major default iPhone applications, including Mail. In Mail you can also search email now downloaded, i.e. still on your server!

Email Multiple Photos
You can now send multiple photos by tapping the action button, selecting a bunch of photos, copying, and then pasting it into Mail.

Landscape
You can now you can use landscape mode in “all key applications” including Mail.

App Subscriptions
Applications will now be able to charge on a subscription basis.

Text Message Forwarding and Deleting
You can forward and delete messages–individual messages or multiple messages.

Spotlight for iPhone!
Instead of having to slide between screens you can now simply flick your finger left from your home screen and start typing whatever application you’re looking for. Superb. It essentially becomes your new home screen.

Calendar Updates
CalDAV has been added, particularly useful for shared calendars.

Notes Sync
You can now sync your notes between the iPhone and Desktop

Voice memo application.
Allows you to record audio.

Stereo Bluetooth A2DP support
High quality audio can now be streamed from your iphone to another device via Bluetooth.

Peer to Peer Connectivity
Two iPhones or Touch’s and any other supported device will be able to connect directly —peer-to-peer—via Wi-Fi, without needing any Wi-Fi network. They can discover each other initially using Bluetooth, and then start a Wi-Fi connection automatically. You can send files via both devices.

Accessories SDK
You can now communicate directly with other accessories. So you’ll be able to control your TV’s volume for example.

Maps API in Apps
Notice how in some applications your directed over to Google Maps whenever the application needs to show you a map? Well no more, maps can be integrated into applications.

Turn by Turn
iPhone app developers can now create applications that perform turn by turn functionality as you have become familiar with on its google maps application.

Push Notifications
So no background apps but Apple have introduced “push notifications” which will mean you can still receive notifications from applications even if they aren’t actually running – particularly useful for instant messaging clients.

Voice Communication within Applications
So say your playing a shoot em’ up on the iPhone. With this update you’ll be able to talk against your competitor from within the app. Just like you would do with a headset on your desktop.

Update apps from within apps
So games can “sell” you new levels for example.

…When and How Much??

iPhone OS 3.0 will be a free upgrade to all iPhone users, including the first generation iPhones. iPod touch users will be able to buy it for $9.95. The beta version is available to developers now but the final release won’t be until the summer.

With great thanks to Gizmodo for their awesome live coverage of the event!