AppleScript is like a tape recorder for your Mac; it can record and play back things that you do, such as opening an application or clicking a button. It is the Mac OS's built-in automation tool, and if you're the type of Mac user who likes to automate as many things as possible, then you'll love AppleScript. For example, you can have an AppleScript lock or unlock a whole slew of files for you by just highlighting the files and running the script. Try to do that in Windows!

In Mac OS X, AppleScript has graduated from a little-used, relatively unknown feature to a full-blown, indispensable part of the OS. To find out more about AppleScript, check out Apple's Web site, where you can download some sample scripts and get a crash course on creating your own scripts. You can also download the Script Menu for easy access to your AppleScripts from the Mac OS X menu bar.