Not to be confused with the Mac OS X widgets thread, this is the Mac OS X screen savers thread (this one's even more useless!).
So, way back in the day, I made some screen savers for the Amiga named "LotsaBlankers". Later on, I ported some of them to Windows, and created some new ones, but I never managed to make a stable and functional enough screen saver under Windows that I'd feel like releasing it. But now that I've got Mac OS X, I've started porting some of this old code over, since making screen savers for OS X is pretty easy and fun. First one I've got running is this one:
http://wakaba.c3.cx/releases/mac/LotsaEscher.zip
It's based on the work presented on this site, http://escherdroste.math.leidenuniv.nl/, and it is liable to BLOW YOUR MIND, MAAAAN. I've been too lazy to figure out how to make a preferences GUI for it yet, so even though the code supports all the possible different transformations of the image (Some listed here: http://escherdroste.math.leidenuniv.nl/index.php?menu=im&sub=escher), you can't actually pick which one you want yet.
There's likely to be more to come. Enjoy!
i also in my infinite wisdom run 2 aty rage 128 and it does not work, same error message as jill (42). runs fine on my imacg5 at work
Thank you. This is my video screen saver
I love this screensaver!
Hi, I have a problem with my new iMac 20'' when screensaver starts the effects of lotsawater appears like thet: black screen with water falling... why didn't it happen when I set a customize image?? It just happens with desktop snapshot image... help me! :) Is there a trick to delete this anomaly?
Thanks to you all
Ciao
If you have the computer set to require a password to unlock the screen, that happens. This is an OS X security feature, and can not be worked around.
Installed LotsaWater on my Intel MacBook Pro and it worked like a charm. Then tried custom image but it already bombs out at the preview. Now I cannot change it back to normal desktop setting. I already tried to remove the screensaver but that does not remove the preferences. Could you tell me how to remove the preferences so I can use the normal screensaver again?
Try moving the picture you specified somewhere else.
i installed lotsa water earlier this day. it worked perfectly fine. i was exchanging the background picture for the screensaver and dragged&dropped an image out of the internet, when suddently my system preferences had to close down. a popup told me this was caused by a "plugin: lotsawater". so i deleted lotsawater, restarted my mac, redownloaded the screensaver, installed it, but everytime there was the same failure notice and system preferences had to close down.
could you tell me if there is any chance for me to get that screensaver to work?
also, i wanted to mention that lotsaesher and lotsaglass work without any problems. just like lotsawater did, until after 1 hour system preferences crashed. could i maybe email you my crash report?
I think deleting the file named "com.apple.screensaver.(something).plist" in Library -> Preferences -> ByHost might fix it.
great. it worked. thanks!
in the MB of a friend (running Tiger).. lostawater works fine with the "password to unlock screen" enabled....it takes the snapshot fine..!!!
how?
Just wanted to say lotsawater is a great screen saver.
I had the problem of black screen when using hot corners and desktop locking but resolved this by dragging a photo to the custom picture shot instead of using the default desktop snapshot.
Can now use a single custom picture and use desktop locking under security with lotsawater.
Running it on a macbook pro with 4g ram, running 10.5
Although one thing did puzzle me for a little while was that I didnt know you had to actually drag the picture you wanted to the little preview window. But its all good.
Just wanted to say lotsawater is a great screen saver.
I had the problem of black screen when using hot corners and desktop locking but resolved this by dragging a photo to the custom picture shot instead of using the default desktop snapshot.
Can now use a single custom picture and use desktop locking under security with lotsawater.
Running it on a macbook pro with 4g ram, running 10.5
Although one thing did puzzle me for a little while was that I didnt know you had to actually drag the picture you wanted to the little preview window. But its all good.
your water screensaver is really awesome.
so awesome that i tought the effect can be merged with some sorta warp animation that would be kinda liquid givin user some really trippy (ouch!)
what do you think? maybe an inspiration
on your future projects?
cheers!!
Max
i would like to see a zoom option that allows the user to specify a zoom step (maybe percentage). the default incremental zoom step is just inconvenient as it can make the images out of frame. thanks for the great software.
I have seen some screencaps and vids of this screensaver, and I really want it. seriously, it just looks so incredibly cool!
but the thing is, I am running a hackintosh 10.5.3, and it doesn't seem to be compatible, as I'm always only seeing blank screens when I'm trying to use it (though I'm absolutely sure my computer can do it: after choosing a custom picture, and running the screensaver once (I get a blank screen, what a surprise), the preview picture in the screensaver menu becomes a screencapshot of a working version...)
the clock gets displayed, btw.
any idea what could be the problem and how to fix it?
if anyone has an answer, please email me at das_muno[at]yahoo.de.
thanks in advance
I'd imagine there's some problem with the graphics driver. I'm afraid that's the price you pay for running a hackintosh.
if you have a mac you have to change your settings in system preferences under security and uncheck "require password to wake computer from sleep or screen saver". then the black screen will not be a problem anymore..duh
>>221
i'd rather have the black screen than have someone install a rootkit if i step away from the computer for a few minutes.
One useful feature that I did not see anyone request would be to allow the screensaver to find out the current desktop picture automatically, and use that as the custom background. That way, none of the open windows, mounted drives, etc. while appear on the screen, just as if you had selected the desktop pic for the background. This way, if you have it set to randomly change after a specified time interval, this would be correctly reflected when the screensaver pops up.
On a side note, I use Lostawater along with Wallsaver so that LotsaWater acts as my desktop background, rather than as a screen saver. It is kinda distracting, but too cool abandon.
Hello, I'd like to ask if it's possible to have multiple boards using only one MySql database and how should I do it. Thanks.
>>224
also, you might want to try to post in the right thread next time.
The lotsaescher is awesome!
thanks very much
I have the Keychain icon on the MenuBar (set by opening Keychain Access and selecting Preferences->General "Show Status in Menubar" This allows me to click the icon and "Lock Screen" Locking the screen runs the screen saver and requires a password upon a mouse move.
When Lotsawater is the screensaver and I click "Lock Screen" all that displays is a black screen and the ripples. There must be some error retrieving the snapshot when locking the screen.
"Fenetres Volantes" (another popular screensaver that depends on a snapshot) does work correctly when I select "Lock Screen"
Is there any way that Lotawater can implement the same capturing technique that Fenetres Volantes uses?
That is a Mac OS X security feature.
Fenetres Volantes does not capture the screen, it uses some kind of hack to capture windows, and the source is not available so I don't have any idea how it does it anyway. It is also unlikely to be useful for capturing the actual screen image.
How difficult would it be to snap a new copy of the desktop every minute or so? Machine I am running this on is a touch screen mounted on a wall and it would be nice to see updated screenshots in the water. I guess I will dig into the src and find out.
As far as I know you'd have to close the whole screensaver window, as there's no way to grab an image from underneath it.
The black screen can be fixed by changing the "Dimming" setting under the Options buttons. It is not caused by the lock screen security settings.
"Dark" = black screen, mover the slider right brings back the desktop image.
As I said before, when Lotsawater is the screensaver and I click "Lock Screen" all that displays is a black screen and the ripples. This occurs even if the "Dimming" setting is set to normal. If clicking "Lock Screen" still allows the screensaver to work for you, what else are you doing?
LotsaWater needs a Default (Reset) button just like LotsaSnow.
Thanks!
Just a heads up, Lotsawater isn't working in Snow Leopard :( Not sure if you are still developing this, but it's my all time favorite screensaver, and I'd be sad to see it have to go.
If it's not too much work to fix, I'll probably fix it when I get Snow Leopard.
Awesome :) if you need a guinea pig, you can email me, trevor.kidd -at- msn.com
This is by far "the" screen saver to savour! Great work!
I know I'll be getting Snow leopard when it comes in Sept. this year.
So more power to getting a fix. : >)
Thanks ahead of time.
Hi, on my computer (iMac 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X 10.5.7 Leopard, 1920x1200 resolution screen) when LotsaWater starts, there is a colourful corrupted screen displayed for a moment. After that everything works like magic. Would it be possible to smoothen start-up (maybe with a fade in effect)?
Any chance of getting a random option on lotsaescher? Perhaps it would change the frame that is being used after a certain time interval?
Great work here!
-mit3y
What about OS X 10.6 compatibility? (LotsaWater 1.4j is not working)
When I actually have Snow Leopard I will look into it.
Go download a torrent bitch. We want snow leopard compatibility now... Get it??????
Please. Could you make it (lotsawater) work on snow leopard?
Yes, i realy want the screensaver to work on my Snow Leopard!
:)
lotsawater is the best screensaver ever made!
Tell you what, somebody donate me the money for Snow Leopard and I'll be on it in a flash.
What's your paypal account? ;-)
What's your paypal account? ;-)
Did someone find lotawater for snowleopard?
I really love this screensaver and i'd like to have it again!
I would pay the $29 for you to get snow leopard and fix lotsawater... my mac doesn't feel complete with out it!
I'll donate you
if you can make LotsaWater to work on Snow Leopard
I do love that.
:)
Just chipping in my vote for Snow Leopard support in LotsaGlass.
Many thanks!
Well, since apparently nobody wanted to put their money where they mouth is, I had to get Alexander Strange to help out with compiling and testing, but we did finally get them working. Maybe. Not much testing has been done, so proceed at your own risk.
http://lotsablankers.googlecode.com/files/LotsaEscher1.4.zip
http://lotsablankers.googlecode.com/files/LotsaGlass1.3.zip
http://lotsablankers.googlecode.com/files/LotsaSnow1.4.zip
http://lotsablankers.googlecode.com/files/LotsaWater1.5.zip
Please serve us the "leaves falling screen saver" for autumn version modified the Lotus Snow .
Thanks a lot for the good work ;-)
They are all working fine...
I also have the black screen problem with screen locking on MacBook (1,1) OS X 10.5.8 and LotsaWater 1.5, I deactivated asking for password in order to exit the screensaver and worked with the snapshot.
It used to work as intended under Tiger, even with password on exit, but I really would like it back to work, I need the password on exit and still love this screensaver.
Bye
HEY!! Glad to see LotsaWater working in SnoLeo.
I assume that your paypal addy is the one from the donate link on the main page, but how would you prefer your donation, in USD, CAD, EUROs, etc? I can't quite spare enough for a copy of SnoLeo, but I'd be happy to send $10 USD to go towards it. It's not much I know, but that's all I can really spare at the moment.
Thanks again for your hard work, and if you ever need a guinea pig for testing, feel free to let me know.
Trevor ;)
EUR. Also, you can just use the buttons on http://wakaba.c3.cx/s/lotsablankers/.
Thank you! my Snow Leopard is complete with lotsawater!
lotsawater runs with snowleopard perfectly … in preview. with my macbook the screen goes black when the saver is activated and the rain drops on a black screen. in preview it takes the actual screen image. what did i do wrong? thank you!
That's a Mac OS X security feature when you have screen locking turned on.
Hi, just wanted to let you know, that the new version of LotsaWater no longer has the corrupted screenshot issue that was present on Leopard. Huzzah for that! The greatest screensaver of all time is back in action!
It seems to be running faster under snow leopard, did you use GCD while you were making the new version? I just wonder.
No, it's pretty much exactly the same code. Funny that.
HOW DO I GET LOST OF WATER TO WORK WITH THE LOCK? HAS THIS BEEN FIGURED OUT YET?
SAME HERE!!! can we fgure out how to mka eit work with the lock on? please!!!
SAME HERE!!! can we fgure out how to mka eit work with the lock on? please!!!
i have an idea. we can make a script that automatically goes off right when the screen saver starts! it will take a snapshot of the screen and it will use that as background!! ok how do we do this?
ok so i have made the fix!!!!
its kinda a workaround...
so you need lotsawater (obviously) and a screensaver called scriptsaver. it will allow you to play a script as screensaver turns on.
using this i set it up as follows:
go into preferences and screensaver
in lotsawater set it to use custom screen. mine is in my documents
go to scriptsaver and options. set it to use my script, which youll just have to copy paste somewhere.... (change 'paths' to your computer settings.)
tell application "Finder"
if exists file "Macintosh HD:Users:'paths':Documents:screen.jpg" then
set var1 to minutes of (get modification date of (file "Macintosh HD:Users:'paths':Documents:screen.jpg"))
set var2 to minutes of (current date)
if var1 is var2 then return
end if
end tell
tell application "ScreenSaverEngine" to quit
delay 1
do shell script "screencapture /Users/'paths'/Documents/screen.jpg"
tell application "ScreenSaverEngine" to activate
well what this does is stops the screen saver checks the last time it was captured (otherwise it will just loop over and over) and takes the capture and resumes screensaver
>>275
It's AppleScript, which tries very hard to be COBOL.
It seems not to work with snow 10.6.2...
Lotsasnow is very nice! Next time you're playing around do you think you could create an irregular breeze, i.e., one that affected snowflakes differently depending on their size? or that affected all snowflakes equally (in a horizontal direction), but the flakes fell at different rates depending on their size? or both?
Was wondering that for security, there could be a stand alone option for just using the background for the SS rather than a screen snap shot.
I have earthdesk running in the background and would prefer that to be used.
This is a small bu8t significant security issue and it would be easier if just the background as present.
Cheers Hawkeye
Thanx for the superduper screensaver LotsaWater!!
Though, it seems not to work with Snow.. update - 10.6.2. :(
/R
Are you using the newest version of LotsaWater?
hi -
the issue whereby the screenshot just renders a black screen for the Lotswater background when you have Require Password to wake from Sleep enabled in 10.6 - is it fixed yet?
many thanks for your work!
j x
For the millionth time, that is an OS X security feature, and there is not really anything LotsaWater can do about it.
what does it mean ?
hmm... my girlfriend loves lotsawater, and so does her roommate. I don't know what's wrong with the rest of the female population!
I'm looking around for a fix on the OS X side for the black screen issue, and I'll post if I come up with anything.
Sorry if this has been answered before. I searched as best as I could but could not find a specific answer to this.
Most "profressional" imageboards have a root page containing links to subboards. So I want to make one, but have it read the user's cookie and obey the display settings. I'm asking:
Hi, thanks for the great screen savers!
For the idea to see the actual Desktop and not a screenshot of it:
It's just a thought coming to my mind by fooling around with the custom images.
I don't know if this will work, but since the formats png and tga are allowed, isn't it possible to allow alpha maps for these formats to make the actual image transparent? Or will this also make the water drop effects transparent?
Anyway, it's a great screen saver.
Regards
My screen goes to black then lotsawater starts. I prefer it would do the effect using whatever is on the desktop. How do I fix it please?
Here are a few Animated Screenshots of LotsaEscher you may use for your site:
http://seamac.info/cupboard/darkroom/shotfromscreens/LotsaEscher001l%2001f.gif
http://seamac.info/cupboard/darkroom/shotfromscreens/LotsaEscher001l%2001n.gif
http://seamac.info/cupboard/darkroom/shotfromscreens/LotsaEscher001l%2001s.gif