Most operating systems include a number of built in applications, Apple’s OSX is no exception. Some of these are ok while some like iPhoto, Garage Band and iTunes are truly great examples of applications that showcase OSX.
The articles here are about those built in applications.
If you’ve used Mac OS X for a while now, you may of discovered Automator, the drag and drop scripting system that allows you to automate tedious tasks very easily. I’ve used it to create an “Send to Email” script which allows me to select an attachment in the Finder and send it via email.
Totally Apps has posted a guide written by Apple’s Production Manager for Apple Automator Sal Soghoian. He is one of the names behind Apple’s Automator Workflow application he shared the stage with Steve Jobs while introducing this whole new way to work.
I’ve been using OSX for a few years now but every once in a while I run into one of those obvious features of the OS that I never knew about. This happened just the other day with the Address Book.
The Mac Address Book has a very full featured print facility which lets you print envelopes, mailing labels, even a pocket address book. You just need to select a card or range of cards and select Print from the menu. Check out the video below to see the entire process.
Have you come across anything about OSX that you never knew existed, tell us about it here.
If you would like to rip DVDs onto your OSX system there are less options than on a Windows PC. However, the software that is available is very good. Today we are going to take a look at Handbrake. A very easy to use DVD ripping program that will take DVDs and convert them into a plethora of formats.
If you want to rip DVDs for the iPod, AppleTV, TiVo or just to watch on your Mac Book then Handbrake is the application for you.
To get started, you need to first install Handbrake onto your system.
Launch Handbrake, then follow along with the video below
As you can see Handbrake does an excellent job of easily allowing you to load your DVD collection into your Mac. The next time you are on a trip, you don’t have to bore yourself with things like reading. Open up iTunes or VLC and you’re ready to go.
If you take a lot of digital photos, you know how challenging it can be to keep them organized. iPhoto, a free photo library application is included with Mac OSX. It does a great job helping you keep your library organized.
In iPhoto 9, Apple introduced a new featured called Faces which tries to identify and tag people in your pictures. With a little bit of training, it does this very well.
In this short video, Apple introduces Faces and shows you how you can start using it to track the people you love in your photos.
If you have a portable media player that isn’t an iPod, you know how frustrating it can be if you own a Mac. Apple has done a great job creating an iTunes, iTunes Music Store ecosystem. This is great if you have an iPod or iPhone but it is really frustrating for the millions of other people who own Blackberrys, PSP, Android and other devices.
Now, new software is availalble from a company called doubleTwist which will let you use your devices on your Mac, in iTunes.
A quick video demonstration of it’s capabilities are below.
The software was developed by Jon Lech Johansen (aka DVD Jon). He is the same guy who cracked the DVD copy protection scheme. If anyone can figure out the interoperability problem, it’s him.
If you’ve used Mac OS X for a while now, you may of discovered Automator, the drag and drop scripting system that allows you to automate tedious tasks very easily. I’ve used it to create an “Send to Email” script which allows me to select an attachment in the Finder and send it via email.
