But it’s setup to run only when you tell it to. Crap right? What’s the point of having an awesome personal robot doing stuff for  me if I have to tell it to do the stuff in the first place.

Here’s the fix. Get iCal to tell it for you. By setting up each Automator task as an iCal Alarm Plug-in… Let’s get to it.

1. Launch Automator, located in the Applications folder, and create a new workflow window.
2. Select the iCal category, located in the Library list in Automator. Select the Get Specified iCal Items action in the Action list and drag it into the workflow area on the right side of the Automator window. Click the + or Add button to specify the calendar or calendars from which you would like to retrieve events.
3. Add whatever cool task you want Automator to run below the iCal task in the daisy chain.
4. Select Save as Plug-in… from the File menu in Automator.
5. Name the plug-in something awesome like “WALL•E Clean Up My Open Applications”
6. Choose iCal Alarm from the Plug-in for popup
7. Click the Save button
8. iCal will be brought to the front, and a new event will be created for the workflow. Set the start time for the new event to whatever time you want. Configure the event to repeat every weekday.
9. Once the event has been configured, the workflow will run every time that calendar event tells it to. How AWESOME IS THAT!!!

_theSheik

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My dad is really, really good at email… and streaming public radio via iTunes… and using Voice Recording Software… and Skype, he’s really good at Skype… and leaving absolutely EVERYTHING OPEN. He never closes anything. He has had a computer since 1994 and yet for some odd reason, he never learned to Quit out of an open application. Now this is not exactly a skill I would put at the top of the must learn pile, but if you have a slow computer, and you have 25 OPEN APPLICATIONS, you might want to look into it. I’m just saying.

So here is an awesomely simple way to solve this age old issue.

1. First up, get a Mac.
2. Open Automator
3. Select Library in the left column
4. Select Calendar or iCal in the left column
5. Drag Get Specified iCal Items to the Main Window
6. Click the Add or + Button in the “Get Specified iCal Items” Window
7. Choose which Calendar you want to control your Techy Events. I created a new calendar called Tech Support, I think if you leave it blank Automator will create one for you called… Automator.
8. Now select Utilities in the far left column of Automator
9. 2nd column, scroll down to the Q’s and drag “Quit All Applications” over to the Main Window.
10. In the Main Window make sure Ask to save changes is checked.
11. In the Do not quit: window you can select applications you would like to leave open no matter what. I have selected my Mail, Firefox, Quicksilver, iCal & Skype. A quick way to get this combination right is to open all the Applications you love, close all the Applications you don’t and then select the Add current applications button
12. Select File > Save as Plug-in…
13. Give it a relevant name. I called my Quit All Applications. 10 points for originality.
14. Select iCal Alarm in the drop down menu.
15. Click Save.
16. Automator now opens iCal if it isn’t already open and adds a new event on the current date and time.
17. Double click the event to edit it’s guts.
18. Make it repeat however often you wish. For my father I selected it to run Every day at 9am. That way he starts fresh every morning. Set yours to whatever frequency you wish.
19. Click Done and you are away.

That’s all there is to it folks. No more sneaky applications chewing up your memory in the background without your knowledge. And no more excuses for the lazies, or the ones who just don’t know any better.

A final note. Remember to save and save frequently.

_theSheik

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