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DESCRIPTION
CoolBackground allows you to use the screen saver selected in your preferences as a desktop picture. CoolBackground runs only on OS X 10.2 with Quartz Extreme. It is processor intensive, it is advised to use this application only with high-powered machines. Want to see CoolBackground in action? Download this QT video (630KB).
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WHAT'S NEW
  • 10.4 tiger support. No longer 10.3 compatible
  • Exposé and Dashboard compatible
  • KNOW BUG: with some configurations animated desktop will stop on real screen saver launch
  • source code is available so if you might help me to fix that...
REQUIREMENTS
Mac OS X 10.4 or later.
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Developer:Julien Couthouis
Downloads:18,804
  - Version d/l:6,425
Utilities:Desktop
License:Free
Date:08 May 2005
Platform:PPC
RATING
****½
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CoolBackground User Reviews (12 posts)Write A Review
sort: smiles | time
Dec 2 2004

ANONYMOUS  There's a jillion apps like this. The one that seems safest and most reliable is Visage... even my G4/466 with a PCI 7000 can run low-impact savers like Dividing Space or Subversion (which is just too cool over a desktop picture) without bogging down using Visage. Go ahead, pay the man his shareware fee, it's a good hack.

[no, I'm not the developer, don't even know the guy, I'm just a fella who had to boot to single-user to fix his file system after another screen-saver-on-desktop hack locked him up]

Another nifty screen-saver tweaker is Saverlab.  
(Version 2.4)

praisebury
0
[ 1 Reply - Reply ]
Replies:
Dec 16 2004

ANONYMOUS  Um, Visage don't work with 10.3.  
(Version 2.4)

praisebury
0

Dec 2 2004
***..

BRIAN  Very cool Idea! Perhaps not fully cooked enough yet?

All commands in the menu bar refuse to operate ,while this program is running, and all other apps slow down dramatically. Me thinks it's a memory hog, but I'm only running a G$ 867 with 1.5 gigs of ram.  
(Version 2.4)

praisebury
0
[ 1 Reply - Reply ]
Replies:
Dec 16 2004

ANONYMOUS  Hmm, I run on a G4 with 1GB and notice no slowdown... does Activity Viewer show it memory hogging? and what module are you doing (Flurry seems to work real well)  
(Version 2.4)

praisebury
0

Dec 1 2004
****.

MARIUS_TH  great program, works very well on my G4 iBook

(now just need some fancy screensavers =P)  
(Version 2.4)

praisebury
0
[ Reply ]
Feb 21 2004
***½.

ALPINGEFAHR  Excelent app. Doesn't run well with Exposé though...  
(Version 2.3.2)

praisebury
0
[ Reply ]
Oct 24 2003

ANONYMOUS  Cool if you've got a jillion GHz Mac, which i don't.  
(Version 2.3)

praisebury
0
[ Reply ]
Oct 23 2003

ANONYMOUS  This is nifty  
(Version 2.3)

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[ Reply ]
Oct 23 2003
*****

ANONYMOUS  Cool, but I have problems with Safari while running various savers...  
(Version 2.3)

praisebury
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[ Reply ]
May 1 2003
*****

153957  "The trouble is, finding cool screensavers to use as my background....where can I find some!!!"

right here on MacUpdate, download FadeText screensaver, i use it to it Rox, or else, use The Matrix, it uses lots of cpu, but its cool  
(Version 2.2.3)

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0
[ Reply ]
Mar 14 2003
*****

BABELFISH  Cool Background combined with Desktop Calendar and TimeDiscSaver Screen saver----ah, finally I have a desktop I can live with. All I have to do is click on Show Desktop and I can see the time and calendar. All it needs is a menu control for Coolbackground.   
(Version 2.2.3)

praisebury
0
[ Reply ]
Mar 14 2003
*****

ANONYMOUS  i'm using my macaquarium as my desktop. how cool is that? this program toally rocks.  
(Version 2.2.3)

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