Are you still using the default desktop image and screen saver on your Apple Mac? If you are getting tired of them, here are a couple of free tools that will brighten up your desktop. Screensavers were originally created to prevent static images burning into old style CRT monitors that used to be used in the 80s and 90s.
Modern screens like those used on the MacBook and iMac do not suffer from burn in the same way, but there are other reasons for wanting one. Apart from being functional in stopping screen burn, screensavers were fun too. So although you don’t need one to stop screen burn on today’s Macs, you might want one simply for the fun they bring to the desktop.
Here are two free screensavers that have the added bonus of providing live animated desktop wallpaper too. Koi Pond 3D Lite Price: Free Size: 25MB macOS: 10.6.6 or later As you can guess from the name, this app features Koi, a coloured form of carp, in a pond. There is a free version of the app and a paid version, which provides a greater variety of fish and more ponds. Is still fun though and is available for free in the Mac App Store. Run the app and an icon is added to the menu bar. This displays a menu that enables you to show live wallpaper or a full screen screensaver.
Both are brilliant and show amazingly animated fish swimming in a shallow pond. It almost looks real. In wallpaper mode the static macOS desktop image is replaced by a live image of the fish swimming around. You can use the Mac in the usual way and windows appear on top of the animated desktop in the normal way. It looks amazing and it is great for showing off your Mac to friends. In screensaver mode, the animated full screen image is dismissed when the mouse or keyboard is touched. There is an option in the settings to include sounds, like splashes, water drips and other sounds.
Animated Wallpapers And Widgets For Mac Free
There is also an option to pause it on battery power or when the battery is low. On my old MacBook it ran the CPU at a constant 8 to 9%, so I wouldn’t use it on the battery. New MacBooks with more powerful hardware will most likely cope better. This is a fun way to customise your Mac and it will impress your friends. Weather HD: Forecast, Live Wallpaper, Screensaver Price: Free Size: 494MB macOS: 10.9 or later is another free app from the Mac App Store and like the previous one, it provides entertainment in the form of animated desktop wallpaper and screensaver. The default macOS desktop image is replaced with a live image that runs like a video, or maybe a seamlessly looped animated image. It is not any old image, but one that is based on the current weather conditions and the time of the day.
So if it is a bright and sunny day, the live animated desktop will show a bright and sunny scene, such as the beach. In the evening the scene will change to a sunset.
The app automatically selects the image, but it can be overridden and you can choose any scene or set it to random. There are more than 20 to choose from. Top centre is a weather widget that shows the time and current weather conditions. It also shows the forecast for the next three days. Like the desktop, it is animated and the weather conditions show animated clouds, rain, sun and so on.
The size can be adjusted and there is a paid version of the app that provides another three weather widget styles. The app doesn’t need to be told where in the world you are and it works it out and gets the weather forecast. It also applies the right temperature scale too, such as Fahrenheit or Celsius. The dock icon also shows the weather and it can be set to show today’s or tomorrow’s.
The app is half a gigabyte, which is huge. No doubt this is mostly the animated wallpaper images. However, even on my old MacBook the CPU usage hovered at around just 3%, which is impressive. It probably isn’t noticeable on a new MacBook. This is a great way to brighten the desktop and add a bit of fun to your day.