It seems like only last month that Flying Meat released Acorn 2, its exceptional "image editor for humans," with a massive array of new features like mutli-layer screenshots, RAW support, and two heaping handfuls of other new tools. After a couple of minor touch-ups and fixes in recent weeks, the purveyor of virtual airborne nourishment is back with Acorn 2.1, a major update that adds another laundry list of new features and fixes. Oh wait, it was only last month. Acorn 2.1's most significant new feature is definitely "scripting for humans" in the form of AppleScript, complete with a series of example scripts to get users started.
Adding AppleScript support to an application can be hard, which inspired Flying Meat to integrate the JSTalk scripting language for Acorn 2.0's launch. AppleScript is a fairly simple scripting language that is accessible to mere mortals (read: non-developers) like you and me, but there has been some understandable debate recently about its future. JSTalk is based on Javascript-it arguably jives better with developers' style and can be easier to add to Mac OS X apps. Other new features include a Hex color picker in the color palette (great for Web design), various improvements to managing layers, automatic image scaling when printing, and the adoption of a smart new Mac trend wherein Acorn will ask if you want to move it to the Applications folder if you run it from any other location. Nevertheless, the community asked for AppleScript, and it's great to see Flying Meat swoop in to the rescue.
I wasn't kidding about there being a laundry list of improvements and fixes in Acorn 2.1, so take a look at the rest for yourself, or fire up Acorn to take the update out for a spin. But before you resort to drastic measures, you could just download a demo for free. If, for some strange reason, you still have not tried or bought a copy of Acorn yet, you may need to consult your physician. Acorn 2 requires 10.6 Snow Leopard and a license costs $50.
0 comments:
Post a Comment