Screensaver Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Mac 101: get a floating clock on your screen saver

by Scott McNulty (Apr 2nd, 2008)

Welcome, once again, to Mac 101, TUAW's continuing series focusing on tips and tricks useful to new Mac users. Mac veterans might learn a thing or two along the way, but these tips are aimed squarely at our new Mac friends. Today's tip is all about knowing what time it is. If you're running Leopard ...

Red Baron screensaver for those with strong stomachs

by Michael Rose (Mar 19th, 2008)

If you're the sort who rides roller coasters for fun, who takes cruises through the North Atlantic in wintertime and laughs at the green pallor of your fellow passengers -- maybe the Red Baron screensaver is for you. Join the OpenGL party as the Baron sails through a simulated sky and over the ...

Leopard screensaver, Help menu video leaked

by Mike Schramm (Aug 29th, 2007)

When I posted the new System Preferences pane in Leopard earlier this week, I was a little disappointed to see that while the desktop had changed (here it is online, if you want to make it your own already-- thanks, Ryan D!), the screensaver had not. I figured this is because Apple wasn't bringing ...

Keeping time with Aurora and PolarClock

by Mike Schramm (Aug 20th, 2007)

Here's two more cool ways to figure out what time it is, because sometimes you just can't look out a window. First off, Aurora (which we've written about in the past) is an free and easy little alarm clock that will play almost any media you've got, including any playlist in iTunes or even channels ...

Chemicalburn: a transportation network-simulating screensaver

by Mike Schramm (Jul 16th, 2007)

So this past weekend I realized that I still had the great Skyrocket screensaver on my Powerbook from the Fourth of July-- no, not this year's. Last year's. It was time to get a new screensaver. Fortunately, FreeMacWare was featuring Chemicalburn, a screensaver by Michael Ash (who also created ...

Celebrate Independence Day with your Mac

by Dave Caolo (Jul 3rd, 2007)

Tomorrow is Independence Day in the US, which we celebrate by drinking alcohol, eating outdoors, and blowing things up (in that order). Here's how you can get your Mac in on the fun: Mix the Drinks Bargenie puts 24,000 drink recipes on your Mac. Set it up next to your bar (being careful not to ...

The Twittervision and Flickrvision screen saver

by David Chartier (May 16th, 2007)

Twittervision and Flickrvision are sister projects that mashup their respective communities in real time with Google Maps, providing a (somewhat summarized) play-by-play world map of what's happening on Twitter and Flickr. While watching either of these services can easily become a hobby, of sorts, ...

Mac OS X kernel panic screensaver - let the pranks begin

by David Chartier (Apr 11th, 2007)

What's better than a Dashboard widget that can display a Mac OS X kernel panic? A full-on screensaver that can simulate one, of course! Mark Johns of Doomlaser has built an eerily realistic kernel panic screensaver, right down to the slowly dropping grey shade of despair, that will surely induce ...

The Apple TV screensaver is hot

by David Chartier (Mar 23rd, 2007)

Sure, everyone is looking inside the Apple TV and at it, but check out what it does on screen when it's twiddling its thumbs and waiting for you to command your library! Now I don't have mine just yet; it's still hanging out in a local FedEx distribution center, so I made a friend shoot this for me ...

Quartz Composer Art / Screensavers

by Mat Lu (Mar 6th, 2007)

Quartz Composer was one of the coolest new technologies Apple added in Tiger. It allows designers to create some amazingly complex motion graphics with comparatively little work. (Core Animation is likely an analogous advance in Leopard). The Japanese designer Futurismo Zugakousaku has used Quartz ...

Quick-and-dirty security trick

by Dave Caolo (Feb 21st, 2007)

Reader Jamie offers a quick security tip. If you're the type that's frequently away from your desk, you may want to keep your machine secure while you're gone. As Jamie points out, you can simply turn on your screensaver and set it up to require a password at de-activation. Next, activate a ...

Flyz Screensaver 1.1.2

by Laurie A. Duncan (Jan 23rd, 2007)

I don't know how I managed to avoid earlier versions of the Flyz Screensaver, but I just came across version 1.1.2 on VersionTracker and I am pleased to see they've "fixed a bug that was causing the flies and maggots to accumulate at the bottom-left corner of Intel Mac screens" and "increased the ...

Make your windows fly with Fen�tres Volantes, a 3D screensaver

by David Chartier (Jul 28th, 2006)

For years now, I haven't really been one for screensavers. Ever since I started owning nothing but portable machines with LCDs and I found out that burn-in really doesn't happen anymore, I either opt to let my displays dim and turn themselves off to save power or I simply leave my chat and email ...

Fireworks Screensaver for 4th of July

by Damien Barrett (Jul 2nd, 2006)

I've always liked screensavers. Flying toasters will always hold a special place in my heart, but I continue to be impressed by Skyrocket, a free screensaver that renders fireworks on your display. Perfect for your 4th of July party, not only is Skyrocket free, it's also a universal binary which ...

Hills screensaver updated

by Dave Caolo (Jun 9th, 2006)

Back in April, we wrote about the "Hills" screensaver by Chris Kent. A number of you told us how much you liked it, so today we're pointing out that version 1.1.2 is available. For the unfamiliar, Hills is a screensaver for Mac OS X that lets you glide over rolling, grassy hills on a sunny day. ...