Thursday, March 26, 2009

AppleScript: Exploring the power of Folder Actions, part III

AppleScript: Exploring the power of Folder Actions, part III

Filed under: , ,

So far in this AppleScript feature we've covered what folder actions are and how to create them. In this AppleScript post, I'm going to tell you how to create your own custom scripts and add them to your folder actions list.

If you work with file permissions a lot, then you know how crazy it can get when you need to change a ton of files to their correct permission types. With this AppleScript folder action, you can easily change the permissions just by dragging and dropping files in their correct folder.

Creating the Script
To get started, we'll open the Script Editor (located in /Applications/Utilities). Once you have the editor opened, copy/paste the following script:

on adding folder items to this_folder after receiving added_items
tell application "Finder"
set fold_name to the name of this_folder
try
repeat with i from 1 to number of items in added_items
set new_item to item i of added_items
set the item_path to the quoted form of the POSIX path of new_item
do shell script ("/bin/chmod -R +r " & item_path)
end repeat
end try
end tell
end adding folder items to

This script will change the dropped files to a permission of "0644" meaning that everyone can read the file. For information about chmod and command line permissions strings, visit the Wikipedia page.

Continue reading to learn more about this AppleScript and folder actions.

Continue reading AppleScript: Exploring the power of Folder Actions, part III

TUAWAppleScript: Exploring the power of Folder Actions, part III originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

25 Useful Free Mac Apps for Freelancers
As a full-time freelancer and part-time geek, I like to play around and install applications on my Mac. In the following list I share some of the free Mac apps that make my life easier. I also own a PC, so I give my readers who use a PC an alternative for each app.

Lite-On to Launch 24x DVD Burners in Europe

Lite-On started distributing in Europe a new series of DVD burners. Beside this new record in performance, Lite-On brings also new features to make its units defferent than models from competitors. One of hte feature is the new technology Smarterase.

It allows users to definitely burn and erase a disc without any chance of recovery of hte storeed data, as the laser burns deeply all tracks.

Two new models will also arrive in May. The first one will be compatible with the LightScribe technology, while the second will support LabelTag.

This new process allows you to burn letters on hte data stirage side of the disc. It will reduce the capacity of the disc, but it will not require specific media.



Will Artists Still Love Macs Tomorrow?
Michael Gibbs, an illustrator based in Northern Virginia, describes working on a Mac Pro in terms that suggest a Zen-like trance: "I can't explain it well, but you are not even really aware you are using a computer program -- the design applications are that intuitive." He can easily tell the difference between applications that are natively designed for the Mac -- anything Adobe -- and those that have been retrofitted for the OS X environment, such as Microsoft Word. The latter, he told MacNewsWorld, "are just plain cumbersome."

iShoot goes 2.0, adds networked play

Filed under: , ,

When your simple-yet-addictive tank shooting game blasts its way to the top of the App Store sales charts and earns you a reasonable fraction of a cool million bucks, what do you do for an encore? Developer Ethan Nicholas has released iShoot 2.0, adding much-requested features to the $2.99 artillery battle (the free iShoot Lite remains unchanged).

The new version of iShoot (App Store) adds plenty of customization options, including a weapon designer, new rulesets and rule editor, background music -- and a local LAN network play option, allowing you to blast 3 of your friends over WiFi whenever you like. Check it out.

TUAWiShoot goes 2.0, adds networked play originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

AMD Will Launch its Radeon HD 4890 on April 2nd

It is on April 2nd that AMD/ATI will officially launch the new flagship, the Radeon HD 4890, which should be immediately available.

Without bringing any deep modifications, when compared to the Radeon HD 4870 recently made available for Mac Pro owners, the Radeon HD 4890 brings an average 10% performance gain. This is mostly achieved by increasing both GPU and memory frequencies. In addition, some early tests have shown that this graphic card can easily and stably be overclocked. Some sites claim to have pushed the GPU fequency to 1 GHz instead of the default 850 MHz. The best news is most probably its price, as it should be around 250 USD. If one can find a way to flash this GPU with the bios from a Mac edition card, the Radeon HD 4890 might also become popular among Mac users, especially for those who do not need the DisplayPort output.



AppleScript: Exploring the power of Folder Actions, part III

Filed under: , ,

So far in this AppleScript feature we've covered what folder actions are and how to create them. In this AppleScript post, I'm going to tell you how to create your own custom scripts and add them to your folder actions list.

If you work with file permissions a lot, then you know how crazy it can get when you need to change a ton of files to their correct permission types. With this AppleScript folder action, you can easily change the permissions just by dragging and dropping files in their correct folder.

Creating the Script
To get started, we'll open the Script Editor (located in /Applications/Utilities). Once you have the editor opened, copy/paste the following script:

on adding folder items to this_folder after receiving added_items
tell application "Finder"
set fold_name to the name of this_folder
try
repeat with i from 1 to number of items in added_items
set new_item to item i of added_items
set the item_path to the quoted form of the POSIX path of new_item
do shell script ("/bin/chmod -R +r " & item_path)
end repeat
end try
end tell
end adding folder items to

This script will change the dropped files to a permission of "0644" meaning that everyone can read the file. For information about chmod and command line permissions strings, visit the Wikipedia page.

Continue reading to learn more about this AppleScript and folder actions.

Continue reading AppleScript: Exploring the power of Folder Actions, part III

TUAWAppleScript: Exploring the power of Folder Actions, part III originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

25 Useful Free Mac Apps for Freelancers
As a full-time freelancer and part-time geek, I like to play around and install applications on my Mac. In the following list I share some of the free Mac apps that make my life easier. I also own a PC, so I give my readers who use a PC an alternative for each app.

Lite-On to Launch 24x DVD Burners in Europe

Lite-On started distributing in Europe a new series of DVD burners. Beside this new record in performance, Lite-On brings also new features to make its units defferent than models from competitors. One of hte feature is the new technology Smarterase.

It allows users to definitely burn and erase a disc without any chance of recovery of hte storeed data, as the laser burns deeply all tracks.

Two new models will also arrive in May. The first one will be compatible with the LightScribe technology, while the second will support LabelTag.

This new process allows you to burn letters on hte data stirage side of the disc. It will reduce the capacity of the disc, but it will not require specific media.



Will Artists Still Love Macs Tomorrow?
Michael Gibbs, an illustrator based in Northern Virginia, describes working on a Mac Pro in terms that suggest a Zen-like trance: "I can't explain it well, but you are not even really aware you are using a computer program -- the design applications are that intuitive." He can easily tell the difference between applications that are natively designed for the Mac -- anything Adobe -- and those that have been retrofitted for the OS X environment, such as Microsoft Word. The latter, he told MacNewsWorld, "are just plain cumbersome."

iShoot goes 2.0, adds networked play

Filed under: , ,

When your simple-yet-addictive tank shooting game blasts its way to the top of the App Store sales charts and earns you a reasonable fraction of a cool million bucks, what do you do for an encore? Developer Ethan Nicholas has released iShoot 2.0, adding much-requested features to the $2.99 artillery battle (the free iShoot Lite remains unchanged).

The new version of iShoot (App Store) adds plenty of customization options, including a weapon designer, new rulesets and rule editor, background music -- and a local LAN network play option, allowing you to blast 3 of your friends over WiFi whenever you like. Check it out.

TUAWiShoot goes 2.0, adds networked play originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

AMD Will Launch its Radeon HD 4890 on April 2nd

It is on April 2nd that AMD/ATI will officially launch the new flagship, the Radeon HD 4890, which should be immediately available.

Without bringing any deep modifications, when compared to the Radeon HD 4870 recently made available for Mac Pro owners, the Radeon HD 4890 brings an average 10% performance gain. This is mostly achieved by increasing both GPU and memory frequencies. In addition, some early tests have shown that this graphic card can easily and stably be overclocked. Some sites claim to have pushed the GPU fequency to 1 GHz instead of the default 850 MHz. The best news is most probably its price, as it should be around 250 USD. If one can find a way to flash this GPU with the bios from a Mac edition card, the Radeon HD 4890 might also become popular among Mac users, especially for those who do not need the DisplayPort output.


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