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Electric Sheep
Electric Sheep
4.4
0.0
Electric Sheep free download for Mac

Electric Sheep

Version 3.0.2

Electric fractal imagery screen saver.

4.4
Based on 18 user ratesRead reviews & comments
Free
Absolutely Free

Electric Sheep overview

Electric Sheep is a screen saver that owes its name to Philip K. Dick's novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. It realizes the collective dream of sleeping computers from all over the Internet.

When the screen-saver is activated, the screen goes black and an animated 'sheep' appears [note: sheep = beautiful, fractal based, MPEG2 compressed animations- this does not put hopping sheep all over your screen]. Behind the scenes, the screen-saver contacts a server and joins the parallel computation of new sheep. Samples are available.

Every fifteen minutes, 24/7, a new sheep is born and distributed to all clients for display. Each sheep is an animated fractal flame.

What’s new in version 3.0.2

Updated on Apr 23 2018

Version 3.0.2:
  • Release notes were unavailable when this listing was updated.

Information

License

Free

Size

14.3 MB

Developer’s website

https://electricsheep.org/

Downloads

154519

App requirements

  • Intel 64
  • Mac OS X 10.6 or later
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0.0

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  • Comments

  • User Ratings

gerardkirk95
gerardkirk95
May 19 2021
3.0.2
5.0
May 19 2021
5.0
Version: 3.0.2
It's pity it doesn't work well on new Mac OS
lwbrown
lwbrown
Jun 16 2018
3.0.2
5.0
Jun 16 2018
5.0
Version: 3.0.2
always mezmerising
WordWeaver
WordWeaver
Apr 26 2018
3.0.2
2.5
Apr 26 2018
2.5
Version: 3.0.2
Yesterday I noticed that there is now a “Gold” version of Electric Sheep which offers high definition imagery, plus faster sheep downloads. I used to use Electric Sheep years ago. However, I became disappointed by the image quality on my 27” iMac. -- it was both blurry and pixelated -- so I stopped using it. When I saw that there is now a “Gold” version, my hopes were raised, and I thought that maybe Electric Sheep would be worth using again. However, upon reading the Electric Sheep website, I came to see that “high definition” only means 1280x720 pixels. As I wrote to Scott Draves, that may be fine on a 17” or a 15” MacBook Pro, but I had doubts that ES would look much better on a 24" iMac with a default screen resolution of 1920x1200. Scott wrote me back and said that I could always cancel my subscription if I was not satisfied. So, just to satisfy my curiosity, I went ahead and subscribed to their monthly plan, and began the one-day free trial period. Well, less than twelve hours later, I have already canceled my subscription. As I said, 1280x720 may look good on a MacBook Pro, but it just doesn't cut it yet on my iMac. It isn't just that the images are not sharp and crisp, it is that I also find the sheep themselves rather boring and old school. I also purchased G-Force Platinum almost three years ago. Personally, I find G-Force Platinum to be much more to my liking. While it is 50% more expensive than a yearly subscription to Electric Sheep, and even though the iTunes plugin no longer works thanks to an Apple bug, nevertheless, there is so much more that you can do with it, and everything is very clear and sharp -- even on my iMac -- being as it is all local. So, if you want to pay money for a screensaver -- there are a number of good free ones out there -- I would say to go with G-Force Platinum on an iMac.
nobody2011
nobody2011
Apr 23 2018
3.0.2
0.0
Apr 23 2018
0.0
Version: 3.0.2
The best Screen Saver is the black screen
Libertyforall1776
Libertyforall1776
Dec 11 2017
3.0
0.0
Dec 11 2017
0.0
Version: 3.0
3.0.1a is out!
Libertyforall1776
Libertyforall1776
Jul 28 2016
2.7b36
0.0
Jul 28 2016
0.0
Version: 2.7b36
Screen Saver does not run on 10.11.6. :(
Libertyforall1776
Libertyforall1776
Apr 14 2012
2.7b34
0.0
Apr 14 2012
0.0
Version: 2.7b34
MU is just lazy to actually find the release notes! 2.7b34 released. changelog: - fixed issue where launching standalone application before screen saver just after installation corrupted content directory path and subsequent download attempts were failing on low disk space. - blacking out non-primary monitors during full screen mode in standalone application can be now set in preference dialog. - fixed issue where attribution image would have mixed up color palette. - fixed possible stutter in some rare cases - some other minor improvements. - plus all other fixes shared with Windows version
WordWeaver
WordWeaver
Apr 13 2012
2.7b34
2.5
Apr 13 2012
2.5
Version: 2.7b34
I have been disappointed in Electric Sheep for quite some time now, the reason being that it looks rather crappy -- blurred, pixelated and out of focus on a large monitor. As I recall, this was not the case with my older Macs which had smaller monitors, such as a 17" screen. However, on a 24" iMac -- 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo -- and a 27" iMac -- 2.88 GHz Quad Core i7 with 8 GB of RAM -- as I said, it looks rather awful. Also, I have never seen anything as beautiful as the exotic images which are used to advertise this software. If there is a solution to the low-quality image problem, I'd really like to hear it. Is anyone else experiencing this fuzziness on large monitors? Thanks!
alas!
alas!
Sep 14 2011
2.7b33
5.0
Sep 14 2011
5.0
Version: 2.7b33
One of the most elegant and beautifully designed screensavers ever; ES(free of charge" and G-Force Platinum($30 per year)generate some of the most incredibly astounding imagery. This current ES version works just fine for me, no slowdowns or glitches here. Some of the generated imagery seems sharper than in earlier versions. Of course, what ES sorely lacks is a method for capturing and saving screen shots. Nevertheless, ES is an aesthetic tour de force in creative brilliance. Totally mind blowing....oh yeah!
Der~bot~haus
Der~bot~haus
Aug 11 2010
2.7b28
0.0
Aug 11 2010
0.0
Version: 2.7b28
Very sluggish. Looks as though it is dropping frames. No extra processor load, just stuck in molasses. Reverted back to b22 and speed has returned.
Fervid
Fervid
Oct 3 2009
2.7b15a
0.0
Oct 3 2009
0.0
Version: 2.7b15a
I'm probably one of the few people that's actually disappointed with this new version. I prefer to have the screensaver on half size (ie in the middle of the screen), but it seems you cannot do this in the new version. Am I missing something completely obvious in the settings?
Maboroshi
Maboroshi
Sep 1 2009
2.7b15a
0.0
Sep 1 2009
0.0
Version: 2.7b15a
Please fix this for Snow Leopard! I love this screen saver!
Lee123
Lee123
Aug 15 2009
2.7b15a
0.0
Aug 15 2009
0.0
Version: 2.7b15a
They have the crasher fix.
Fyreflye
Fyreflye
May 2 2009
2.7b15a
0.0
May 2 2009
0.0
Version: 2.7b15a
Worked beautifully on OS 10.4.11; crashes on opening with 10.5.6
Siddhartha
Siddhartha
May 2 2009
2.7b15a
4.0
May 2 2009
4.0
Version: 2.7b15a
Fantastic screensaver-one of the best! Only problem-I wish that it would work on 2 screens-I have 2 screens, and one is simply blank while the screensaver runs. Would be great if it would span the screens, or run separately on both (even mirror would be nice)
Macrob
Macrob
May 1 2009
2.7b15a
0.0
May 1 2009
0.0
Version: 2.7b15a
Ok. I removed the .saver file and the folders in application support. I re-downloaded and installed again, and it seems to work fine.
Thus-spake-z
Thus-spake-z
May 1 2009
2.7b15
5.0
May 1 2009
5.0
Version: 2.7b15
As far as screensavers/visualisers go, Electric Sheep is, IMO, in the same league as the wonderful G-Force; both render some incredibly beautiful and breathtaking imagery. What E.S. lacks, however, is method to capture screenshots, which G-Force already has. E.S. sorely needs that feature. I think that it would be a very interesting collaboration for the developers of both E.S. and G-Force to work together and combine techniques. Anyway, been using E.S. for some time now and loving it. In light of the apparent glitches with E.S. 2.7b15, I'll stick with version 2.6 for now and wait for the beta to evolve into a stable version.
resuna
resuna
May 1 2009
2.7b15
0.0
May 1 2009
0.0
Version: 2.7b15
IMPORTANT NOTE: From the Electric Sheep website... Before the new hotfix is out. If you have a crash running screensaver just after installation of b15, please try the following: After installation, check if all folders on the path "~/Library/Application Support/ElectricSheep/content" exist. If not, please recreate those missing manually. Or just launch this in Terminal: cd ~;mkdir -p "`pwd`/Library/Application Support/ElectricSheep/content";cd - When all folders are created, the screen saver should not crash anymore. I am working on the patch and b15a should be out soon. If it still crash for you, please let me know. Thanks, Daniel
Macrob
Macrob
May 1 2009
2.7b15
0.0
May 1 2009
0.0
Version: 2.7b15
2.7 crashes system prefs as soon as it's selected. MacPro 10.5.6, 13 GB ram, and I've never used this before, so I don't have the old version still installed.
Guest
Guest
Apr 24 2009
2.6.9
0.0
Apr 24 2009
0.0
Version: 2.6.9
The version listed here no longer exists. The 2.6 server is being shut down. You must upgrade to 2.7, see http://community.electricsheep.org/node/509 or just http://electricsheep.org for the latest. --Spot (the developer)
tjekov37
tjekov37
Nov 20 2023
3.0.2
5.0
Nov 20 2023
5.0
Version: 3.0.2
gerardkirk95
gerardkirk95
May 21 2021
3.0.2
5.0
May 21 2021
5.0
Version: 3.0.2
iamdavegray
iamdavegray
May 19 2021
3.0.2
5.0
May 19 2021
5.0
Version: 3.0.2
lwbrown
lwbrown
Jun 16 2018
5.0
Jun 16 2018
5.0
Version: null
WordWeaver
WordWeaver
Apr 26 2018
2.5
Apr 26 2018
2.5
Version: null
anonymous-trout-1840
Apr 2 2018
5.0
Version: null
Myka
Myka
Dec 12 2011
5.0
Dec 12 2011
5.0
Version: null
mday108
mday108
Nov 7 2011
4.0
Nov 7 2011
4.0
Version: null
Sarazil
Sarazil
Sep 15 2011
5.0
Sep 15 2011
5.0
Version: null
alas!
alas!
Sep 14 2011
5.0
Sep 14 2011
5.0
Version: null
Siddhartha
Siddhartha
May 2 2009
4.0
May 2 2009
4.0
Version: null
Thus-spake-z
Thus-spake-z
May 1 2009
5.0
May 1 2009
5.0
Version: null
Jasarthur
Jasarthur
Aug 6 2007
4.0
Aug 6 2007
4.0
Version: null
Sidetracked
Sidetracked
Aug 18 2006
4.8
Aug 18 2006
4.8
Version: null
Lettuce
Lettuce
Jul 19 2006
3.8
Jul 19 2006
3.8
Version: null
Jazzduck
Jazzduck
Jun 12 2006
1.0
Jun 12 2006
1.0
Version: null
St00pid-M0nk3y
St00pid-M0nk3y
Mar 2 2006
4.8
Mar 2 2006
4.8
Version: null
Guest
Guest
Nov 7 2005
4.8
Nov 7 2005
4.8
Version: null
Free
Absolutely Free
How would you rate Electric Sheep?
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