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AppleScript

Is Tahoe really macOS 26 or 16?

Apple’s developer websites refer to macOS Tahoe as 16.0. Does that mean it’s not really 26 at all? How to check the version number so you get the answer you want.

June 13, 2025 Macs, Technology

A brief history of scripting the Mac

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Includes HyperTalk, UserTalk, AppleScript, Prograph, shell scripts, Automator, Swift Playgrounds and Shortcuts, from 1987 to the present.

February 22, 2025 Macs, Technology

Macs had malware long before Mac OS X

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Although viruses native to the Mac arrived slightly later, by the end of the 1990s there were at least 35. Here’s a brief look at the tools available then.

July 13, 2024 Macs, Technology

How the Mac didn’t bring programming to the people

HyperTalk, AppleScript, Prograph, Automator, Swift Playgrounds and Shortcuts – all wonderful tools in their day, but none has brought coding to the crowd.

September 16, 2023 Macs, Technology

System settings that aren’t in System Settings

Where would you set the default call handler for macOS? And where in System Settings do you set the default web browser?

July 29, 2023 Macs, Technology

How to write to the log from a script

If you want to write to the macOS log from a script, you used to be able to use logger. Although it still works, here’s a more flexible alternative.

January 14, 2023 Macs, Technology

Hidden controls for system settings in macOS

Some system-wide settings are hidden away in the preferences of bundled apps. Here’s a list of where to look for those and others which aren’t easy to find.

March 15, 2022 Macs, Technology

Getting started with Shortcuts: 1 Basics

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Shortcuts in Monterey works in different ways to ensure that it can’t be used as a malware platform. This introduction shows how this works transparently.

October 19, 2021 Macs, Technology

Shortcuts: Automating the Mac

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October 1993: AppleScript for the Mac.
April 2005: Automator for the Mac.
September 2018: Shortcuts for iOS.
October 2021: Shortcuts for macOS.

October 13, 2021 Macs, Technology

Cleaning out old preference settings and other housekeeping

It’s time to do some spring-cleaning. How to clear out some of those thousands of old preference files without losing anything important. And here’s how to do it using Shortcuts too.

September 17, 2021 Macs, Technology

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