“Want to know what might be the best reason to put a spiffy new Apple Mac in your small business office? It’s not the hip ads or the easy-on-the-hand keyboard that comes with the iMac, or the ridiculous debate about whether Apples or PCs running the Microsoft Windows operating system are faster or easier to use,” Jonathan Blum writes for TheStreet.com.
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, it is ridiculous that some people are still debating whether Macs or Windows PCs are “faster” or “easier to use.” Apple Macs have been proven study after study after study after study to boost productivity, decrease support costs, offer lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and retain their value far longer than Windows PCs. In hundreds of independent reviews, Apple’s Mac OS X is the clear winner over Microsoft’s Windows (VIsta or the ancient XP).
Blum continues, “Rather, for my small business money, the single most exciting productivity tool probably lies hidden deep inside some Macs: Automator. This piece of code, which Apple describes as a ‘personal automation assistant,’ is part of the new Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac (starting at $400) suite of office software. Yes, you have to buy the whole Office software package to get Automator.”
MacDailyNews Take: Wha? Do some research. Please. For once. Automator is part of Mac OS X. It has shipped on every Mac since the release of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger on April 29, 2005. Microsoft’s bloated Office is definitely NOT required. Hey, it’s TheStreet.com, what do you expect? Automator is an application developed by Apple for Mac OS X that implements point-and-click (or drag-and-drop) creation of workflows for automating repetitive tasks. Automator enables the repetition of tasks across a wide variety of programs, including the Finder, the Safari web browser, iCal, Address Book and more. It can also work with third-party applications such as Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop. More about Apple’s Automator here. Apple’s Automator Actions website is here. None of this is surprising because, as we saw less than a month ago (‘Tech guru’ spreads the FUD about Macs in business – May 30, 2008), Jonathan Blum knows pretty much nothing about Macs.
With that major correction out of the way, Blum loves his Automator, even if he has no idea what it is, who makes it, or how it got on his Mac. Blum writes, “For the right operation, the gains possible with Automator are enormous. And it is this simple: Think of how slick it would be to get the boring, repetitive stuff that bogs you down all day out of the way. And my read here is firm: Somebody, somewhere is going to make a lot of money with Automator. That person might as well be you.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Contact: Jonathan Blum
woah… great investigative reporting there… real brilliance…
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thestreat.com <– easy targets for anybody smarter then a gerble.
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These guys have some nerve to write such false infomration merely because there’s no comment section and people cannot respond to him.
I think there should be way to sue these bastards.
I was just looking at Automator two days ago wishing that I knew how to use it.
I’m sure I’m not the only one.
Apple ought to start using Splash screens for their standard apps. This way even cave dwellers know what is opening and who makes it.
But didn’t Microsoft buy Apple in 1997?
(That <u>still</u> floats around the intarweb. Probably from Afib.)
The last time I went to the Street.com APPL was still less than $50…
As MDN said, hasn’t the discussion over Mac and Windows been had and the answer given? As with Street, they are useless and don’t deserve anyone’s visits.
@Ampar
“But didn’t Microsoft buy Apple in 1997?
(That still floats around the intarweb. Probably from Afib.)”
LOL yep and I still get this from IT people, can you turn off Appletalk, we don’t want to flood our network with all that chatter!!! HUH? LOL….
“I even had a guy tell me, Apple did nothing but steal Xerox, its all shown on that movie, go check it out.” Uh yeah.. right.
About Automator menu item: “Copyright © 2004 – 2007 Apple Inc.
All rights reserved.”
Give the guy a break. You can’t expect a professional writer for a major financial news source to enter “automator” into Google and click any of the top ten results to learn the most elementary information about something before writing about it. If you want that level of research you’d better stick to an 8 year-old’s school book report.
“Tip: Want to learn more about Automator? Check out the built-in Automator Help guide on your Mac (in Automator, choose Automator Help from the Help menu).” http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304759
Great stuff here: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/automator/index_sp.html
and here: http://watchtutorial.com/video/OS/Mac/
TheStreet.com? Hah, more like TheGutter.com.
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Automator is cool and all. It does meet Apple’s goal of bringing Apple Script to the average user too. I guess I’m still the hardcore geek, I still prefer to write my Automations using XCode and Apple Script.
How can anybody use Automator and think Microsoft made it? It’s so obviously an Apple product, from the moment you take a glance at it.
In his defense, and I’m the one who alerted MDN to this article, Office 2008 full version do come with what MS calls Automator Actions for Workflows in Microsoft Office, so that’s probably what he saw and had never heard of Automater before. I did e-mail him (it’s a pretty easy link to find in the article) to fill him in on this info, and noted in my e-mail to him as I will here that many of us Mac users feel Automater is underdeveloped and underpromoted by Apple.
“I guess I’m still the hardcore geek, I still prefer to write my Automations using XCode and Apple Script.”
Yes, yes you are.
What a complete and total moron. This should put the nail in the coffin into any debates about whether or not TheStreet.com can EVER be trusted on ANYTHING they EVER say.
TheStreet.com’s reputation just keeps going up! Soon their credibility be on par with Martha Stewart and a distant second to Jello pudding.
I think they should change the Automator icon to the girl robot character in Wall-E =)
IT guy: These guys have some nerve to write such false infomration merely because there’s no comment section and people cannot respond to him.
You’ve got a point there. However, TheStreet.com has a Readers’ Feedback section. Change the subject menu to Article Comment and let the editor knows how inaccurate Blum’s article is. Granted that other readers won’t see your comment, but if the editors are honest (though I am skeptical given theStreet.com’s continuing inaccurate articles), they’ll be more careful in weeding out lies and misinformation from his future articles.
how embarrassing …
Let me get this straight:
You find a piece of software on your computer with no clue as to as to who made or how it got there, but proceeded to write a entire article about its virtues WITHOUT ACTUAL RESEARCH??!!
I think I’m in the wrong business.
M$ paid for this article so unsuspecting people buy their piece of crap.
I think the word you are searching for to describe Blum is “numpty”!
Has someone at least written to The Street and let them know that this joker has his facts screwed up? I’m trying to find a way to email them… not much luck.
Jesus… you know, I NEED a job… where do I sign up for TheStreet.com? No question I fulfill the (non-existent) job requirements…
@ChrisW357
Read my previous comment
@ ../.
Ah! Gotcha… thanks. I skimmed the comments a bit too quickly. I’ll be firing away in a bit.
MS mu$t be handing out incentive$ to anyone if they can $omehow connect Office, or any other MS product to Apples rising star.
He is not so dumb, he wrote an article and needed to get some eyeballs, so he acts dumb so that the whole Mac community jumps on it and boom, instant readers.
harpo64, ../., and ChrisW357,
MDN’s “Contact: Jonathan Blum” link was too complicated for you?
You guys are making Blum look smart.
Forget Blum, what’s his boss’ email???
Nevermind, he’s indy… *grumble*
@ Tired Of Retards,
You could give us a small break. Normally I don’t miss something like that. I’m also used to sites being a little more “up front” when it comes to contacting them.
Just having an off day. I’m not doing research on an article, though.
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Idiot!
Why would he say that “Apple describes [Automator] as a ‘personal automation assistant,’ ” and then claim that it’s from Microsloth?
What a maroon!
@Jeff
Exactly.
Isn’t this the same guy that thought that flash ram and Flash were the same thing?
@Tired of Retards
What’s the point in emailing Blum directly? It’s like pouring water in the desert. The purpose of his articles can be summed like MDN said:
None of this is surprising because, as we saw less than a month ago (‘Tech guru’ spreads the FUD about Macs in business – May 30, 2008), Jonathan Blum knows pretty much nothing about Macs.
He is not interested in writing the truth. He writes for hits and his articles are flamebaits. Commenting on the story on a story page works as a refutation to benefit other readers, not the writer. Lacking that feature, complaining to the editors is the next best thing.
If you can’t argue properly without using words like retards, please don’t post at all. We don’t like trollish behaviors.
Well, that does it. This guy has given me the final push! I’m gonna start writing for “Brain Surgery Monthly”. I don’t know a thing about brain surgery, but I bet I can write at the same inteligient level as this guy !
UFB
oh this is all just a waste of my time and its not even a good waste…i think im over the web. i might even quit reading the news…
Jonathan Blum is a moron.
Eric Willard is a moron.
Billy Gates is a moron.
Stevie Ballmer is a moron.
And the list keeps growing… LOL
Its really all related to the brain washing that 90% of the population has suffered from for the past 10 years or so. I had some friends that were so brain washed that using their iMac was difficult because they kept trying to make things harder for themselves. Like uncompressing zipped files. And when I led them to the FREE Stuffit Expander, they continued to get defensive.
This retraining and liberation might take YEARS folks… patience is a virtue!
…who the hell let him out of storage unit B? he prolly doesnt get a paycheck either…just free staples…uuumm yeeeah about that…
Hey, it’s hard to google things sometimes. I mean, he might have misspelled automator.
Wikipedia.org – “Automator is an application developed by Apple for Mac OS X…”
Quit stroking thestreet.com and their stupid stories…..all they want to do is hurt AAPL stock. IGNORE THEM!!!
Automator is good for viewing porn.
He’s an MS shill, along with TheStreet.com (if it isn’t owned by MS, outright), plain and simple.
Eschew TheStreet for evermore and especially clicks to his crock.
@It’s About Time,
The lack of “standard” splash screens for Apple apps is one of the many reasons I’m a proud “Mac person”!!
Aside from pure laziness and ignorance, or hit bait there’s no reason people like Blum can’t click the mouse a time or two to access the About menu on Automator or any other app. If this no-nothing Blum keeps getting a paycheck for such idiocy, next he’ll be saying that he doesn’t know who makes OS X or how it got on his Mac, but Somebody, somewhere is going to make a lot of money with it!
@Steve516,
Why make things harder than they have to be? Mac OS X can uncompress ZIP files with a quick double-click all by itself. Stuffit Expander is necessary only for .SIT or .SITX files.
@Reality Check
If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, eh, Reality Check?
@John Gee,
There’s another great asset built into OS X and it’s called “Help”. If you go to the Finder’s Help menu, open it, and type “Automator” into the search filed you’ll instantly get several step-by-step examples of what Automator can do, and how to use it.
Ahhhhhh……how low can “professional” journalism go? We’ll see……
He and TheStreet.com need some serious flaming.
@ ChrisW357
I’ve also emailed Blum and (very politely) informed him of his error. Checking the article, it still hasn’t been corrected.
@ChrissyOne:
I encourage you to write (very politely) directly to the editors. I did. I pointed out that someone who’s bio claims they are a “technology writer and analyst” is clearly incompetent in peddling crap like this. If you think of it as a product review, it’s akin to saying that you really like the “copy file” function in Windows, and it’s great that Adobe includes that feature when you buy Photoshop – not Photoshop Elements, mind you, the full-up version.
So, friends, rush right out and buy Photoshop so that you, too, can copy files. Maybe if you add Illustrator, you can move them, too!
It’s just that stupid.
ROFLMAO! Man, I’m not sure anyone could look dumber than that writer right now. Holy crap does he look like a complete empty shirt!
My email to Jonathan:
Jonathan:
I just read your article regarding APPLE’s–Apple’s, not Microsoft’s–application, “Automator.” Automator is bundled as part of OS X — no need to pay an extra $400 for anything. The lack of awareness of Apple’s products–or, conversely, the level of ignorance regarding them, especially by the media–is astonishing. A person who makes his living writing about companies and their products should do just a bit more homework when discussing them so he doesn’t sound like yet another Microsoft zealot reviewing products he apparently knows nothing about.
It is innovative products such as Automator–not to mention the iPod, the iPhone, and OS X–that explain Apple’s ascendancy (along with that of its stock price) in recent years. So please, do your homework when writing about Apple in the future.
Sincerely,
Mark
and you wonder why some people think Al Gore invented the internet.
Blum has very quietly fixed this without so much as a nod at his error.
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