Automate Mac: Alarm + Apple Quick Start

Applescript is a powerful and useful tool for automation one’s mac. Here is a quick script I wrote to automate my mac in the mornings and have it serve as my alarm. This short guide allows you to automatically start your computer each morning at a specific time, start iCal, have iCal run the script which will play a playlist from iTunes to wake you up, then start Firefox and open iGoogle which can display the weather, news, you email, and anyother information, and finally open another tab for a different email such as my purdue webmail and log you in. If you think about this, it saves you about 5-10 minutes each morning between waiting for you computer to start up to opening all the different pages for information. Basically, it’s a great way to start your morning!

1. Download the script.
2. Open System Preferences -> Energy Saver -> Schedule… and schedule the time you want your mac to start up.
3. While still in System Preferences go to Accounts -> Login Items -> “+” to add iCal.
4. Open iCal, add new event, under alarm in the event creation choose ‘Run Script’, choose the script you downloaded.
5. Open the script you downloaded and change the iTunes playlist “SummerMix” to a playlist you make in iTunes.
6. Change the web address “https://webmail.purdue.edu/” to the email service you want.
7. Change “username” and “password” to your information for your email service.
8. Get an iGoogle Account if you don’t already have one and make sure you have Firefox remember the password.
9. Enjoy!

If anyone has any suggestions to add or can get BitPim to work so it automatically syncs with a Bluetooth phone please let me know!