Automator: your new virtual personal assistant

I often get the sense that a far greater percentage of my work could be automated. I find myself doing the same repetitive tasks frequently and thinking, "If only I had the time to hack together an Applescript to automate some of this work, I could free up the time I would need to hack together an Applescript to automate some of this work." You know how it goes.

Sounds like Apple is cooking up something to address this nagging feeling that "I shouldn't have to do this manually."
It's called Automator, and is billed as a personal automation assistant. Mac users can use Automator to easily create scripts that automate frequently performed actions.
Think of it as a meta-application framework to help you train your computer to help you improve your workflow (or a cute little helpful robot inside your computer!)

Apple is already preparing an Automator web site where resources and tips on the new software can be shared by its users. The web site launch will likely coincide with the release of the Automator application in early 2005, as part of OS X Tiger operating system.