Friday Favorite: Dasher

I use Dashboard Kickstart:

http://www.alwintroost.nl/?id=40

P.S. If you want to write a script that checks to see if the screen saver is running or not, just use something like this...

tell application "System Events"
set myvariable to exists process "ScreenSaverEngine"
end tell

myvariable will be either true or false, depending on whether the screen saver is on...

Why not just use applescript to do this?

E.g.

try
activate application "Dashboard"
end try

(The reason the "try" is in there is because it gives an error message, but it still works.)

You could have a recurring event in iCal trigger this applescript, or you could set it up as an idle script that gets triggered after a certain amount of inactivity. You could probably also recreate the functionality of DashSaver with minimal difficulty. Why use shareware?

I don't bother with DashBoard at all, if I can help it. I've used Amnesty Singles to convert widgets I use everyday, like iCal Events, DoBeDo, and the iCal widget to desktop apps. I then set those three apps to launch at startup. The first time they open I set the level I want them at. I choose desktop so they don't float, and then use Dockless.app to always hide their icons in the dock. Once the icons are hidden, they always remain hidden, even between reboots. Less clutter in the dock too.

It seems like a lot of work at first, but after initial setup, it's the best thing for me to watch my appointments, make to-do's, and have a perpetual calendar on the desktop, all on my second monitor. Even when I didn't have a second monitor, it was easier than having to go to DashBoard all the time. My events were always visible on the side of my display. I didn't miss anything.

We all have different ways to work. To each their own. :)

The first thing I do on any mac I own is disable dashboard.

DashSaver looks interesting. I always thought a feature like that should be built-in to OX X.