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AppleScript and Automator gain new features in OS X Mavericks
Mac power users love to play with scripting and automation. If there's something that's repetitive that needs to be done, it's a lot easier just to either use Automator to automate the process or write an AppleScript to dive in a little deeper. With OS X Mavericks, it appears that Apple has added some features that will help "self-developers" who want to add their own capabilities to their Macs and commercial apps. On the other hand, there are fewer scriptable items available in many of the new Apple apps... iCloud Sync To begin with, there's a surprise for anyone who launches either Automator or AppleScript Editor. The first thing you'll find is that both apps were updated with iCloud compatibility. AppleScripts that you've created or Automator workflows can now be moved into the cloud and synced to all of your Macs that are running OS X Mavericks. Sure, that's a little thing, but it's useful if you're creating and updating scripts or workflows that need to be deployed to a handful of Macs automatically. Notifications Want to annoy yourself? AppleScript and Automator now includes a Display Notification command that you can use to send yourself notifications from your own scripts. That's actually quite useful if you want to write a script or run an Automator action that's going to ping you when it's done through Notification Center. There's got to be a way to use this to annoy coworkers... Libraries Now this is cool. Let's say that you have code that can be used in a number of scripts. Now you can create an AppleScript Library, which is a script that contains a frequently used routine. Store that in ~\Library\Script Libraries\, and now any other script can use that code by simply calling it with a new use clause. Write once, use many times. Blogger Don Southard over at MacStories has a good example of how to use libraries in his writeup of scripting and automation improvements in Mavericks. Code Signing This may not sound like a big thing, but it's huge. Apple developers can now generate signed copies of applets and droplets as part of the export process in both AppleScript and Automator. Signing these applets means that users launching them will not get the usual Gatekeeper security warning, and adds an incentive for developers to include easy automation tools in their solutions. Speakable-Workflows Now here's a wonderful addition for those who are creating accessible solutions. If Speakable Items is activated in the Accessibility system preferences, Automator adds a new option to the save dialog to save applets as Speakable Items. With that one click, those items are saved to the Speakable Items architecture and can be executed by speaking the name of the applet. Now, about those new apps... On the bad side, some of the new apps appear to be missing a lot of commands in their dictionaries. For example, opening the dictionary of Pages '09 displayed the following: Compare that to the new dictionary for the current iteration of Pages: What's missing? Well, a lot. The Pages Application Suite used to let you do things like script the addition of a chart or table to a document; the Graphics Suite made it easy to script changes to things like the alpha threshold of an image; and the Text Suite even allowed scripting of things like inserting a table of content to a Pages document or fine-tuning the look of character styles. Can't do that with the new Pages... Hopefully Apple will add these capabilities back in an update to Pages and the other iWork apps. (Thanks to reader Peter P. for noting this omission from Pages.) This is just what I've been able to find -- or not find -- in a cursory look at Maverick's automation tools. As more capabilities and deletions become apparent, this post will be updated. I'd also recommend taking a look at MacOSXAutomation.com, which is always helpful and useful when you're considering the use of the built-in OS X automation tools.
Getting TextExpander to work with Mavericks (Updated)
If you've installed Apple's Mavericks on your Mac, you may have noticed that TextExpander won't work right away. That's because you've got to tell the OS that TextExpander has permission to control your Mac. However, the process isn't clear. Fortunately for you, I've figured it out. Here's how to get TextExpander working with Mavericks. When you first launch TextExpander after installing Mavericks (or click its icon if you've set it to launch automatically after a reboot), you'll see a dialog box like this (and yes, I have a snippet that spells "Dalrymple" for me): The box notes that you must open the "Universal Access" system preference pane and check "Enable access for assistive devices." Clicking the blue button opens the Accessibility preference pane. Unfortunately, that won't help. For years, there was a checkbox in the lower-left-hand corner of the Accessibility preference pane labeled "Enable access for assistive devices," but it's gone now. So, to get TextExpander working, do this: Open the Security & Privacy preference pane Click Privacy Click Accessibility Unlock if necessary Check TextExpander under "Allow the apps below to control your computer." You're back in business. I had to work without TextExpander for a while this morning until I got this figured out and it was a nightmare. Here's hoping it helps you out, too. Oh, TextExpander. You complete me. Update: The latest version of TextExpander, version 4.1.1, is available now and pushes you to the right link in System Preferences. Again, TextExpander was prepped for Mavericks before its release and now will help you flip the proper switch in OS X. Go get it!
Alternatives to AirDrop between iPhone and Mac
Like a lot of you, one of the first things I did when I had both OS X Mavericks and iOS 7 (in beta form) on my devices was to try AirDrop. I mean, it's been in OS X for a while and it was added to iOS 7, so of course you're going to be able to zap files back and forth between your iPhone and Mac, right? <crickets> Yeah, that was a major disappointment, and something we'll probably have to wait for Apple to add to the next versions of OS X and iOS. In the meantime, there are several third-party solutions you can use to give you the ability to "AirDrop" your files from a mobile device to your desktop. DeskConnect (free) Not only does it have a great price -- free -- but it also works very well. You'll need to create a free account with DeskConnect, so apparently they're using some sort of online caching of information being sent between your devices. On the iOS device, DeskConnect displays an easily understandable interface that has four buttons: send photo, send clipboard, send websites and send documents. Documents are stored for 30 days, so you'll always have recourse if you sent something between devices and then accidentally deleted it. The share clipboard feature must be turned on (it's not a default setting), but works great. Instashare (US$2.99 for OS X, free iOS app with ads or $0.99 without ads) This is a solution that both Shawn "Doc Rock" Boyd and I use, since he turned me onto this pair of apps a while back. Installing Instashare on your Mac adds an AirDrop-like icon to your menu bar. Click on that icon to bring up a blank window upon which you can drop files and folders, and they're immediately sent to your "Trusted Devices." However, the app was supposed to allow sending of clipped text between devices, and I could never get that to work... and the online help files are less than helpful. Pastebot ($3.99 for iOS, free Mac companion app) Pastebot's been out for a while, more as a "clipboard manager" for iOS than anything else. However, developer Tapbots created an OS X companion app called Pastebot Sync that runs in the background on your Mac and lets you send text and images back and forth between devices. Neither of the Pastebot apps has been updated lately, but they both still work with no issues. Do you have any other suggestions for cross-platform AirDrop alternatives? If so, let us know in the comments.
How Mavericks ruined Apple Mail for Gmail users
Sorry, Mail. My fledging relationship with you was just killed thanks to OS X Mavericks. TidBITS confirmed what I suspected the first time I launched Apple Mail after upgrading to Mavericks on Tuesday -- Gmail and Apple Mail are no longer friends. It was always a tenuous relationship to begin with. As writer Joe Kissell pointed out, you had to do a bit of a runaround to bring Gmail onto your Mac without hogging your entire hard drive. But now Apple Mail is trying to act like Gmail, and in the process is running into numerous syncing issues, ballooning the size of your mailbox and forcing you to activate Gmail's "All Mail" on Apple Mail, lest you want to see your messages constantly reappear in your inbox. While I managed to escape Kissell's issue of having all three of my Gmail accounts download everything again, my smart mailboxes proceeded to break. It kept telling me I had numerous unread messages, but nothing was showing in the mailbox. In the screencap above, you can see the smart mailbox selected but nothing in the mailbox itself. When I checked the rules for that smart mailbox, it had a lot of blank rules that weren't there before. I deleted them, but the smart mailbox still didn't work. Your best solution for now? If you're a huge Gmail user on the Mac, it's worth checking into a third-party client, such as Sparrow, Postbox or Mailplane. I've gone back to the standard web client for Gmail for now, until I can try the beta of Mail Pilot. Sorry, Mail, our brief fling is over. Are you guys seeing issues with Apple Mail in Mavericks? Let us know in the comments.
OS X Server for Mavericks now showing up in Mac App Store
There was a time when installing and configuring Mac OS Server or OS X Server was no modest undertaking; it was an entirely different operating system build, requiring a reinstall or upgrade to get at the yummy workgroup nougat center of Apple's desktop system. Those days, thankfully, are gone: OS X Server now exists as an application shim on top of regular ol' OS X, and you can buy it in the Mac App Store for just $19.99. (It used to be considerably more expensive, especially if you wanted to run it on the purpose-built hardware.) The latest edition of the OS X Server package, OS X Server 3.0, is the build tuned to work with OS X 10.9 Mavericks. As of this evening, it's showing up in the Mac App Store for download or purchase. Among the appealing features of the new OS X Server build (profile management with VPP app distribution, free XSan, the new XCode build server, and the much-loved file and web serving tools) is a revamped Caching Server, which saves Apple software updates -- both Mac and iOS -- to local storage, minimizing the impact to your company bandwidth. If you're updating a machine to OS X Server, let us know how it goes. [hat tip to iMore]
Apple releases iTunes 11.1.2 with OS X Mavericks support
If you've downloaded OS X 10.9 Mavericks, be sure to run Software Update via the Mac App Store after you've installed it. It seems Apple wasn't able to include a version of iTunes that was fully compatible with the latest OS X, so they've released a supplemental iTunes update as well. iTunes 11.1.2 now offers official Mavericks support, according to its release notes, as well as offering support for Arabic and Hebrew, and features additional bug fixes. iTunes 11.1.2 can be downloaded here or via Software Update.
Apple OS X Mavericks 10.9 review
When Apple first unveiled Mavericks, the latest version of its desktop operating system, we noted one key takeaway: The company is committed to OS X. Meaning, those of you waiting for an altogether new experience will have to keep holding your breath. Like all the iterations before it, version 10.9 is a building block atop the operating system's familiar UI. Apple didn't opt for a "biggest change ever" update as it did with release of iOS 7 (and potentially risking alienating longtime users as a result). Which makes sense, in a way: there's little question that the success of its smartphone and tablet offerings have contributed to the erosion of desktop sales, so it figures that the company is focusing much of its developer talent on mobile. That's not to say there aren't a fair number of additions. As the company's decidedly modest tagline puts it, Mavericks lets users "Do even more with new apps and features." At the top of the list are the additions of Maps and iBooks -- two apps first introduced in iOS. And while there are no changes to the Finder as major as Notifications, tabbed windows and tags aim to help users better organize their desktops. We can tell you right now that there's enough in here to justify the download time, especially given that this is free for people already running Snow Leopard or higher. But is it enough to help OS X maintain Apple's self-proclaimed "world's most advanced desktop operating system?" Or is the company's reluctance to think different on the desktop hampering innovation?
OS X Mavericks is available today for free
The pricing and release date for OS X Mavericks has been announced at Apple's special event today. Mavericks, Apple's new, cutting-edge OS is... free. Yes, free. Even better, Mavericks will be available for all users today. When we say all users, we do mean all users, including ones who are using hardware from 2007. You can see the list of older models supported in the image above. Your 6-year-old computer may be getting a new lease on life. The update will be available in the App Store. Still kicking around on Snow Leopard? Well, welcome to the future, no money down. This is a major shot across the bow of Windows.
Apple's OS X Mavericks 10.9 will arrive as a free download today
A little over two weeks after the folks in Cupertino released the gold master of the next desktop OS to developers, Apple has announced that OS X Mavericks will be available for download today at no additional cost. That's right, users running Snow Leopard and later will be able to nab the update for free via the App Store. This release includes iBooks, Maps, a revamped Calendar and much more. For a look at what you can expect, check out our in-depth preview. For all of the latest Apple news, follow our liveblog.
With Mavericks just around the corner, websites begin supporting Safari push notifications
Apple is expected to unveil -- and ship shortly thereafter -- the final version of OS X 10.9 Mavericks at its media event today. With the new OS' launch fast approaching, some big-name websites have decided to switch on Safari push notifications a little early, notes MacRumors. If you're currently running a build of OS X 10.9 Mavericks, you can navigate to The New York Times and NBA.com to check the new feature out. With Safari push notifications in OS X 10.9 Mavericks, users can choose to get popup alerts from websites announcing breaking news or other information, even when Safari is closed. The notifications will appear in your desktop and in OS X's Notification Center, as notifications do now in OS X 10.8, and will also appear on your lock screen under 10.9.
Taking the cover off Apple's October 22nd event: what you can expect
Apple's iPhone event last month was undoubtedly crucial for the company, but it left quite a few would-be customers wanting more. Much of Cupertino's product lineup is practically begging for an update. There haven't been new iPads in a year; both OS X Mavericks and the Mac Pro redesign have yet to ship; and two Mac lines are still stuck on last year's CPUs. As such, Apple likely isn't being hyperbolic when it claims that it has "a lot to cover" at its October 22nd event. But what, exactly, are we going to see on that fateful day? There have been rumors of everything from "natural" updates, like iPhone 5s-derived iPads, to more fanciful excursions like watches and TVs. While there may not be many surprises in store for tomorrow's liveblog, we'll help you make sense of it all.
Apple seeds new GM build of OS X Mavericks
If you're a developer who has been using the Golden Master build 13A598 of OS X 10.9 Mavericks, you may want to do a clean install because Apple has just released a new version. As 9to5Mac notes, the new build is 13A603 and as of yet no one has found any differences between the two besides the build numbers, though there are likely some small bug fixes. It is rare that Apple releases a new GM build of an OS after seeding the first GM build, but it has happened in the past. Of note with this build is it will not show up in Software Update in the Mac App Store if you have the prior GM build installed. You'll need to do a clean install of the 13A603 Mavericks GM build to get it on your system. Apple is expected to announced the download date of OS X 10.9 Mavericks for consumer use at this Tuesday's event.
Weekly Roundup: HTC One Max review, PS Vita review, Apple confirms iPad event and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Apple asking devs to submit OS X Mavericks apps
Apple has asked developers to begin submitting OS X Mavericks-optimized apps. On Apple's official News and Announcements page for developers, the company said: Submit your OS X Mavericks apps today. Make sure your app takes advantage of the great new features in OS X Mavericks when the world's most advanced desktop operating system becomes available to millions of customers later this fall. Download OS X Mavericks GM seed and Xcode 5.0.1 GM seed, now available on the Mac Dev Center. Build your apps with these latest seeds, then test and submit them to the Mac App Store. The timing of the request correlates to Apple's announcement today that it is holding another product launch event on October 22. Though the latest Mac Pro and MacBook Pros are expected to be announced (along with new iPads), it's unlikely that OS X Mavericks will ship that day. However, the fact that Apple is requesting devs get their Mavericks apps ready suggests the new OS could launch in the days following the event.
Apple releases Gold Master of OS X 10.9 Mavericks to developers
Just hours after releasing the first build of OS X 10.9 Mavericks without a "Developer Preview" label to AppleSeed members, Apple has issued the official "Gold Master" version of OS X 10.9 Mavericks to all developers. A Gold Master build is the same, official version of software that will be released to customers. The fact that Apple has released the GM build to developers almost guarantees users will see the release of OS X 10.9 Mavericks sometime this month. OS X 10.9 Mavericks will introduce more than 200 new features, notably iBooks for Mac, Maps for Mac, tabbed Finder, iCloud Keychain, Tags and more. In addition to the OS X 10.9 Mavericks GM, Apple also released iPhoto 9.4.7, which "addresses an issue that could cause iPhoto to quit unexpectedly on launch when running OS X Mavericks GM Seed."
Apple releases OS X Mavericks gold master to developers
Apple's latest flavor of OS X, Mavericks, is just weeks away from landing on customers' Macs, as the gold master has now been unleashed to the developer hordes. Though not a dramatic remake like iOS 7, it'll bring a bring a facelift to such apps as Safari and Calendar, along with better energy management, easier networking, iOS notifications, improved multi-monitor support and more. Developers on AppleSeed also got new versions of iPhoto and Xcode, along with various SDKs to support the new OS. According to 9to5Mac, end users will get the same version by the end of this month, so you might soon be able to stretch your Haswell MacBook Air's 12-hour battery life even further.
Apple gives AppleSeed members new OS X 10.9 build, drops "Developer Preview"
Apple has seeded what could possibly be the Gold Master build of OS X Mavericks to AppleSeed members. The build, labeled "Build 13A598," comes two weeks after the last developer preview of Apple's next Mac operating system. However, this time Apple has conspicuously left off the "developer preview" nomenclature, suggesting that this could be the final build of OS X Mavericks. Other signs that this could be the final build include that there are no known issues with it, and of course, the fact that Apple has stated that OS X Mavericks will launch this fall. AppleSeed members can get the non-"developer preview" build by running Software Update on their Mac. If you notice any changes with this build, feel free to drop us a line.
iTunes 11.1 will have new iOS app organizer
Last night Apple seeded the eighth Developer Preview of the upcoming OS X 10.9 Mavericks. While there were no significant changes since the last build, this release does include the next version of iTunes, as images by Filipe Espósito shows. The app screen organizer in iTunes has received frequent criticism since its inception, and iTunes 11.1 features a revamped iOS app organizer with a more logical home screen page layout, so users don't have to drag apps via a vertical layout anymore. Instead, home screen pages will appear side by side. While iTunes 11.1 is certain to show up in the final shipping release of OS X 10.9 Mavericks, presumably in October, it's possible we may see a version of it released on Wednesday to support the release of iOS 7.
VMware launches Fusion 6 virtual desktop for Mac with Mavericks support, Windows Store app integration
VMware regularly upgrades its Fusion virtual desktop client to support major new operating systems, and it's keeping up that tradition with today's release of Fusion 6. The new Mac app is optimized for OS X Mavericks' most important features, including a reworked full-screen mode that plays nicely with multiple displays. The software is equally ready for Windows 8.1 virtual machines, and lets users place shortcuts for Windows Store apps in a Mac's Applications folder or the Dock. There's also fine-tuning for Haswell-based Macs, a simplified setup assistant and support for virtual machines with up to 16 processors and 64GB of RAM. Fusion 6 Professional users get a few business-friendly upgrades, such expiring virtual machines and cloned machines that link back to master copies. Both variants of Fusion 6 are available today, although pricing has increased significantly since Fusion 5. It now costs $60 for a stand-alone purchase of Fusion 6, and $130 for its Professional edition. Anyone who buys Fusion 5 between August 1st and September 30th can get the newer version for free, but they'll otherwise have to pay either $50 (for a standard copy) or $70 (for Professional) to stay on the cutting edge.
Designer gives OS X the iOS 7 treatment
iOS 7 will give iPhones and iPads a rather drastic makeover when it launches publicly later this year. While we already know that the next version of OS X, Mavericks, doesn't offer the same visual refresh, that didn't stop designer Stu Crew from doing Apple's work for it. The new OS X concept, which Crew has named "Ivericks," employs the same simplistic, modern design principles as iOS 7 to create a rather appealing product. Gone are the beveled windows and faux 3D buttons and in their place are narrow lines and a minimalist aesthetic that seems very much like it could have come straight from Cupertino. My own personal favorite touch is the completely revamped calculator, which takes obvious cues from the calculator app in iOS 7, and still looks gorgeous. Take a look at the full set of concept renders on Crew's blog. [via TheNextWeb]
