Sneak preview: Engadget RSS feed as seen via Tiger Quartz Extreme
By Barb Dybwad 
posted Mar 11th 2005 3:20PM
posted Mar 11th 2005 3:20PM
An anonymous donor was kind, so kind, enough to send us a special sneak preview of how our RSS feed would look in the
upcoming (when? oh when?) OS X 10.4 Tiger. We've got a couple of screenshots and a video encoded with Quicktime 7 using
MPEG4. They depict a screensaver written in the new Quartz Extreme with a new developer application called Quartz
Composer, that animates RSS feeds in, shall we say, a pretty jaw-droppingly slick way. Video link below, and peep
another screenshot after the jump.
Tiger RSS screensaver video [2.87MB,
Quicktime]
Would make a nice screensaver, but I don't know if I'd want to read my news this way...
Big deal. Wasn't Pointcast doing this, like, 8 years ago?
i've seen this before, and it was done on a stripper pole
I got dizzy watching that.
With a black background I am sure it would be nice and convenient.
Looks awesome, but I hope you can adjust the speed of the spinning, or maybe having it just spin once. This video will probably further prove the stereotype that us Mac users "prefer looks over use."
Fishes,
narco.
wow, i can have my livejournal as my screen saver this way? oh wait. i have to switch back to mac. not a problem. can anyone lend me a couple thousand dollars for a g5?
"Looks over use?!" What? I'm sorry, but I don't know how anyone EVER managed to get work done before all your menus and palettes had drop-shadows... How could you tell them apart?? You poor saps and your Windoze.
/sarcasm
So slick!
"Prefer looks over use" HAHAHAHA I would beg to differ with that. I would say that mac users prefer looks AND use over cost and customibility.
damn the quartz engine is amazing!
It's things like this that make me so very very excited about the future of my Apple stock. Assuming Bush doesn't destroy the economy, of course.
I saw a guy at the Apple store yesterday who bought a 17" iMac G5, a PowerMac of some flavor, *and and and* a 30" Cinema display.
I hate that guy.
Seriously!? This is what the world needs? What kind of dumbass devotes his working hours to building this, and what kind of dumbass thinks he needs it?
narco's got it right - this does nothing but reinforce the "Mac users are easily distracted by shiny things" stereotype.
It's a SCREEN SAVER!
It's not and RSS feed application. The thought that Apple would introduce this as their a "new" and "improved" way of reading RSS feeds is ridiculous. It looks a whole lot nicer than watching the windows icon fly across your screen. Place the concept within the context of a "screen saver" and you start to appreciate it much more.
#12, Most dumbasses are writing crappy software for PC's. Look at the racks of useless shit at your local computer store. You might be enlightened as to which platform has the most dumbasses.
wow! 14 posts and not one of them from CARMI!!! WOoot!
I agree it looks good and is a great example of what Tiger will be able to do. But I don't know how slick this is, or how useful.
All the motion is pretty dumb for the purposes of reading and browsing. After a story has passed you don't see it again until you've spun through all the other stories. If anything their titles should float to the side with the key to read more, which also needs to be more readable.
Slick for slick's sake is not very slick at all. RSS is all about making browsing and access quicker and easier. This screensaver manages to defeat both of these. I don't appreciate it any better by thinking of it only as a screensaver. RSS feeds as screensaver sounds like a pretty good idea; this screensaver isn't it. Its beauty doesn't excuse its failures.
Yes, but very cool shiny things ;)
i never understood the benefit of having a screensaver that would max out your cpu/gpu. a good screensaver should be light on the resources and not keep your fans going.
do LCDs even need screensavers?
The next purchase has to be a Mac. Wow!
#18: Quartz utilizes the GPU. It is very likely that the screensaver will use very little CPU time.
So if you have the need for a beautifully rendered RSS feed as a screensaver, this is probably the best.
"Marst" 2005? isnt it March?
It's been mentioned before, but so everyone's clear:
This is a demo that was given to Mac developers. It is designed to show the kind of effects that can be achieved using some of the new developer tools in 10.4 like QuartzComposer. As such it is, in and of itself, light on practicality. It is meant to inspire developers to make slick (and practical) tools for 10.4.
Not that it won't inspire a ton of shiny screensavers as well.
"Slick for slick's sake is not very slick at all."
It's a FREAKIN' SCREENSAVER. EVERY screensaver is SLICK for SLICK sake.
to #18 and whoever else cares
i have been using a build of tiger that has this screensaver for a while and i know from personal experience that this screensaver takes up almost no CPU and infact is almost independent. u must realize that unlike PC graphics cards mac cards keep almost all the prossesing in the graphics card where as in PC's it leaches power from the CPU. core image enhances this even more so.
in the developer preview there is an app called "Quartz Composer". i think it is one of the funnest apps i have on my computer b/c u can make exactly what that screensaver is and more. like changing colors adding video at the touch of a button. its quite amazing.. all of this in real time. and considering im not that privilaged to have a raelly nice computer im doing this all on a 1gh g4 with a 32mb video card. yes thats right 32mb!! if i can have a screensaver that can at the puch of a button various buttons bring up diffrent webcams, local or not, or change RSS feeds backrgound images.. ect ect. i cant beleive what apple is doing with core image. its so flexible. i really wana see what is could do on a 128 or 256 card. as if it wasnt stunning enough. and dont just think if u took that text and turned it into images, easily done with 3 or 4 clicks in Quartz Composer. im telling u its just so awesome.
looks over use?
It's a screensaver, you twit.
Remember when Windows touted the little distortion bubble that floated around your screen back in WIndows 95... that was a screensaver.... only, it was not that great to look at , and provided nothing at all to look at..
This is a SCREENSAVER, so technically, for when people are OUT OF THE ROOM.. so having information on it, is not really necessary, but it's neat anyway... because people will find cool uses for live updating screens (like in a store or something, where new 'deals' could but put on a loop)
Okay, Apple knows style like no one else.. we already know that Tiger is gonna be damn slick.. this is just the tip of the iceberg... wait until people start writing beautiful little Dashboard widgets (we've already seen lots of cool ones)... that is cool.
A screen saver is suppose to save your monitor from being blown out. Not brighten it to hell and add all lightest (harshest) colors.
Almost makes up for the OVERPRICED Mac computers & monitors. Oh wait a minute theres the mini ! Oh wait , The Mini wont be able to run tiger. GUESS IT STILL DOESNT MAKE UP FOR IT !!!
"A screen saver is suppose to save your monitor from being blown out. Not brighten it to hell and add all lightest (harshest) colors."
No, a screen saver is supposed to prevent burn in. A monitor will not "blow out." Burn in can be prevented by changing or moving colors. But... the point is "Burn In" as a monitor problem has largely been eliminated for a decade. Hence, all screen savers are gratuitous.
Diggiti, you're an idiot (as if the troll wasn't stupidly obvious). The Mac Mini most certainly can run Tiger, as can any Mac from the last few years.
to #26
what the crap?!?! y wouldnt the mini be able to run tiger? really, plz explain. teh mini is faster than the compuer that im using right now. i mean my comuter is runnning tiger fine right at this very second and its only 1gh. and the CHEAP mini is running at 1.25. the mini even comes with a better graphics card than mine! i have a ATI RADEON 7500 and the mini has ATI Radeon 9200, yes both are only 32mb cards but it is still better than mine. so where is the problem? am i just missing it?
Luke, yeah i know quartz and core image put much on the GPU (why i included it in my original post) but it's still a resource and will still keep my fan on. just the concept of having my computer's at 'rest' doesn't jive with that.
i know this a just a demo, but rest assured alot of osx's screensavers do the same thing resource-wise now, Tiger won't be any different.
don;t get me wrong, X is def the most innovative OS out there, but even a mac-jocker like me recognizes that apple squanders its talents on regular occasion (see Dock 'poofs')
wish apple just used more temperance every now and then, especially when their hardware is the slowest out there right now.
I think I'm gonna go squander my talents by making a couple of photographic prints and frame them on my wall, because, hell, I've got nothing better to do, and all types of art and design are good brainless activities to do when you're feeling retarded.
Its amazing how tough people are on the internet.
check this link. http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/laptops-pcs/apple/mac-mini-second-wave-029530.php
"But... the point is "Burn In" as a monitor problem has largely been eliminated for a decade. Hence, all screen savers are gratuitous."
eh that's what i figured. i spose one modern thing it's good for is to keep what you had up private.
i just flinch sometimes because apple needs to chill out a bit. i think we can all agree some of OSX gets pretty gratuitious.
i see that shiny, highly animated, dropshadowed 'beachball' wait cursor too damn much for apple to pouring on the polish.
"But... the point is "Burn In" as a monitor problem has largely been eliminated for a decade. Hence, all screen savers are gratuitous."
eh that's what i figured. i spose one modern thing it's good for is to keep what you had up private.
i just flinch sometimes because apple needs to chill out a bit. i think we can all agree some of OSX gets pretty gratuitious.
i see that shiny, highly animated, dropshadowed 'beachball' wait cursor too damn much for apple to pouring on the polish.
you guys sure are passionate when it comes to apple stuff...
I like pizza.
32: The Mac Mini not supporting Core Image and the Mac Mini not supporting Tiger are two very, very different things. With Core Image, and the other "Core" services, if you've got the hardware to really beef it up, then really beef it up it does. If you don't, then those things scale down to what you have.
Let's give one example: if you've watched any of the videos concerning Dashboard, you've no doubt seen how the widgets "ripple" into the screen when they show up. If you have a lower-powered Mac, you don't lose the ability to use Dashboard, you just lose the ability to see the ripple effect. Things like that.
Thus, you comment that the Mac Mini can't run Tiger is still incorrect.
1: It's a screensaver, as people mention.
2: It's an exsample of what can be done.
3: It lets you choose between all the RSS bookmarks you have in Safari.
4: Tiger will run on all Mac's Panther is running on... (so far)
5: CPU usage is 3-5% when this is running.
6: Every Quartz Composer document can be run by QuickTime, the ScrenSaver module and other means...
This means FUN!
screensavers are stupid
Digi Nice...
OMG yes!!! those dock poofs are kinda stupid but they are quite funny.. almost comical b/c there so much like a cartoon. and yes apple has a lot of fancy graphical stuff on there OS thats y its a few gigs and not a few hundred megabytes like it used to be in 9 and earlier. but i mean u dont want an ugly OS either. i think all the graphics are worth the CPU or GPU or w/e just b/c i love having people comment on how clean and sleek mac is and how it is so much easier to use. i cant deny it... i love my mac even if it isnt the newiest fastest mac or computer in general it still beats most PC on the market even being over a year old
"damn the quartz engine is amazing!"
err, what about that couldn't have been done in OpenGL or Direct3D?
I think what's supposed to be cool about it is the ease with which you can write programs that use effects like that... much as Avalon does the same for Windows.
FYI: Quartz Composer is version 2.0 of PixelShox, a discontined (for reasons we now know) OpenGL animation application. Way too complex for me, but theres something i'm probably missing. Someone will probably write some tutorials on this.
re: Digi Nice
"but it's still a resource and will still keep my fan on"
you must be running an old mac, my G5's fan hardly comes on, perfect example. as i type this i'm importing an hours worth of MiniDV footage, creating a DVD, listening to itunes, using safari, and just a few minutes ago i was having a skype VoIP conference with 2 other people. haven't heard the fan fire up at all. if i look in the case i can see the two big fans are spinning slowly, but you can't hear them.
I do not think I would enjoy that gimmic. But here is a TIP if you have FIREFOX.
Use the ENGADGET RSS feed as a LIVE BOOK MARK.
I placed this in my Bookmarks ToolBar at the top of my browser and can view the current headers by passing the mouse over this bookmark. In the same GEEKS folder on my live book marks toolbar I also have
TOMS HARDWARE
SLASHDOT
DAP
GEEKS FREEWARE
as well as
ENGADGET
All of these are RSS feeds and suitable for use as live book marks.
Vic
ki4je
pointless...
I would rather read my RSS feeds rendered on random wooden posts in the World of Warcraft then a screen saver.
I saw something like this about 10 years ago at MIT's Media Lab by a researcher named David Small. He basically wanted to get lots of text into little space and still have the user able to read the text. He did this by using angles and moving the text around on in a virtual 3D environment. Here's link to a story about it and 1 fairly simple shot of one of the examples I saw.
http://www.designwritingresearch.org/essays/fluid.html
video, html, flash etc. on polys - now *that's* a screensaver... :) windows only right now though
actually, no i'm running a 1ghz powerbook, a pretty recent and very common machine. flexing either the processor OR the GPU will get the fan going.
if it hasn't come across, i'm a loyal mac head, so loyal (and old) to remember the graphical AND functional elegance of OS9. god bless OSX, but things like the dock poof, genie effect and other such nonsense are pretty gaudy in comparison.
i'm all for functional graphics though. things like the scale effect, cube user transitions, sheets and drawers are nice to look at AND convey some function. i want more.
this has gone off topic tho. this rss thing was a nice demo, but if you wanna see an elegant, nicely animated, functional rss reader that is light on the cpu and uses the gpu, i heartily recommend NewsTicker (http://www.nullriver.com)
It's a pretty cool screensaver but not very useful to stare at to read since you can't do any work at the same time...
However, since OS X is UNIX underneath you can trick it into doing some pretty cool stuff.
How about running this screen saver as your desktop background??
Run this in Terminal and see the magic:
/System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework/Resources/
ScreenSaverEngine.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreenSaverEngine -background &
digi nice-
slowest hardware on the market? maybe at playing games.
I feel like an idiot just read this thread. It's a screensaver for crying out loud.
BTW. I am one of the guys that have a 30" and running it on my new powerbook. And I also has an Alienware on my desktop. hahaha. :P
1: "I hate macs, they're expensive and don't have the raw preformance of PC's"
2: "I hate PCs, they're not as stylish as macs and the users don't understand my artistic ways"
1: "PCs are better"
2: "nuh-uh, macs are better"
1: "I know you are but what am I"
2: "your momma"
seriously guys, this is a stupid argument.
don't think anyone's arguing for PCs on this subject. certainly not me.
but even though macs are far superior in my opinion, it's a pretty clear fact they are slower than PCs. don;t really need to argue this, a $499 mac mini has the same CPU as a $2500 powerbook, and on the desktop, it takes two processors to equal the best PCs have with one. its easy to tell not just in games but in such mundane everyday things like flash.
now back on topic. core image and the things it can do are great, no doubt. it's just questionable that a GUI should need a 64mb video card to run 'smoothly'. don't get too carried away apple
^^^your argument is moot as speed is subjective to what you are doing. The fastest Macs whoop ass at video editing and dealing with HD content. PC's whoop ass when workin with 3D content. In terms of raw processing power, it has already been proven that a smaller cluster of G5's are more cost effective, stable, and faster than a cluster of Intel or AMD computers.
Already been said but this is just a developer showing engadget something cool quartz and core image can do by showing it's RSS feed in a screensaver. If anything it just shows the power of these two technologies and how they are integrated at the core level of the hardware and OS. As far as GPU usage, I doubt the average or professional user is sitting there working with the CPU/GPU monitor open.
This is just a demonstration of cool new technology. Stop making this a literal comparison. Macs will have this soon, and maybe Window's Avalon will have something similar.
Replying to the second post:
Mark, Pointcast sure kept their technology cross-platform as well as...oh wait they don't exist anymore. Pointcast was a limited approach at "push" information distribution which this "new developer application called Quartz Composer" seems to be allowing any competent programmer a stab at.
And to those unable to see beyond the demonstration itself:
The deal here AND I REPEAT the deal here is that this is a tech demo. Practicality goes a bit out of the window when you're trying to inspire people to think beyond their supposed technological limitations.
And this whole thing about overkill in Aqua, sorry but I don't think paradigm shifts in interface design should so easily be branded a "waste of time".
pro apps have to be heavily optimized for macs (altivec and/or dual proc) to compete, but regular things like browsing or looking at flash is hardly niche, you see it everyday (unavoidably), and its *much* slower on macs. even vs a P3. just a fact, but yes, its NOT apple's fault, it's motorola's and IBM is catching up. so chill out macolytes.
and again, make that distinction between interface 'paradigm shifts' and mere eye candy. tell me exactly what ripples and poofs "shift" beyond pixels, your mac ego and time (if not cpu/gpu cycles, especially on older hardware). there should be a lot less of these things and more of the useful graphic engine uses. like sheets, drawers and *EXPOSE*..
if you haven't seen it in real (saying it because its kinda not-so-news), it looks much better, and its smooth and moving nicely.... As a screensaver its nice, you if you happen to look at a news item that catches your interest, press the mentioned number key to go to the respective news on the page.
nice... pointcast or not... its opengl, not rave or custom-three-dee
it is just something created to errr show off what could be done,.. I don't think any body is expecting you to read your news that way. It will make a cool screensaver tho,..
People who think burnin is a thing of the past should stop and look around for systems that have dedicated functions. I see all the time medical pacs systems on both lcd and crt where you can see where the common screen elements are with the screens powered off!!!
And were talking Sony, Nec and Barco displays! Not cheap stuff.
...and if you want to see Engadget in the awesome Akregator reader: http://www.riskable.com/images/figure3.png
The use of a screensaver with rss headlines escapes me somewhat. However, I'm holding out for a Mac to be my media center and host my music, videos, photos, etc. ... I would want it to be hooked up to my tv and use that as the interface, a remote control as control point. Not unlike Windows Media Center.
With that the case, this screensaver makes sense to me personally.
It's a long shot, eh? ;-)
It's really slick as a screen saver, but I don't see getting much use out of it. Might be a good way to see if headlines have changed without actually opening Safari
... but where are the flying toasters?
I don't know about this particular example, but sometimes eye-candy can be practical even though you wouldn't think so initially.
For those of you who have seen Sun's Project Looking-Glass video you'll know what I mean. Yes, it's 'just' a 3D desktop but there is practicality in it (e.g. allowing you to stack windows more flexibly).
Perhaps future versions of OS X will be Looking-Glass-like.
tiger (and the apps it will allow) is going to be so cool!!!
core image looks rocking :)
ok, so i have just read 66 posts, and only on post hit the spot with what this is all about.
no one is expecting this to be something that is useful, helpful or easy to read. this is a pre-release technology showcase.
the point is they are say "Hey, its possible of this kind of thing!" but we don't expect u to use it! this is just a cool way of showing you what its capable of.
Now everyone needs to stop bickering. blimey! ok, so pc guys, u love your big mhz, may i ask you google "megahertz myth" thanku!
Why why WHY? why the OS hate? I use Linux as my main OS at home, and use WIndows for gaming, and even though I dont like some things about it, OsX is pretty damn good. I hate the organization and the Os lockdown, but the OS itself is near bulletproof. If i could afford one, I would also likley have a Mac system at my home too.
And besides, I agree function over form, but DAMN does this look good. If it works well, and looks good, what is there to complain about?
Digi Nice
You obviously have never used a G5. It takes a $5,000 Dell dual Xeon to touch my dual 2GHz G5.
Eric:
And how much did you spend on that dual G5?
And what the HELL apps are you running that only a dual Xenon system could match? Video editing/encoding, I admit Apple does a better job with in general, but a dual Xenon system and a Dual G5 system are built with totally different uses in mind. And for the price, you get way more power for a system built on AMD or Intel procs.
christ, all it takes is one mere mention of Apple hardware in comparison to PC hardware and boom, 70+ posts.
using the RSS screensaver as an example, i was talking about Apple's predisposition to sometimes-not-so-functional eye candy. a philosophy thats pretty obvious, both software and hardware (puck mouse anyone?). but you guys want to dote on about how macs are faster than PCs. fine. lemme know when G5s come in a powerbook.
i've never owned anything but a mac. but i can't even make a non-positive remark on anything apple, and anything else i said is ignored. what PC users say about macheads is true, your irrational mac-myopia/fanatacism almost makes me ashamed to be a mac lover.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050315-4704.html
I agree with most people. It looks awesome, but it's not really a good way to read RSS feeds if the spinning thing was that fast.
Use your imagination just a bit here folks. This is not designed to replace your RSS reader. Wouldn't it be nice however, if you could publish an RSS feed of some photos, so that someone else could subscribe to an ever changing slideshow? It's a technology proof of concept, designed to showcase Quartz and RSS in Tiger. You can already create photo-slideshow-screensavers that automatically update in OS X (Apple has their own, which has shown the same 5 photos of Apple products for years now--the idea here is clearly a derivitive of that. They're THINKING about how to use available features... When you think of fresh content (unlike Apple's damn screensaver) you think of RSS, so I'm sure someone said, hey, let's do a slick Aqua-Pointcast thing for kicks.
If you don't understand how this could be useful, you are a total meathead. I usually don't like to get involved in Mac-PC arguments, but the vast majority of negative comments seem to be coming from an ANTI-Mac camp. Just relax, the RSS screensaver is not a personal attack on you. This would be great on Kiosks, it can be extended to show local weather, stocks, etc.
A great solution for a bank that wants to come up with their own "broadcast" to distract the people on line. Or a nice way for hotels to display upcoming events, a company to show off some recent client work. There are a ton of cool possibilities, it's all about showing LIVE data to a PASSIVE audience. The business uses are endless.
Use your imagination just a bit here folks. This is not designed to replace your RSS reader. Wouldn't it be nice however, if you could publish an RSS feed of some photos, so that someone else could subscribe to an ever changing slideshow? It's a technology proof of concept, designed to showcase Quartz and RSS in Tiger. You can already create photo-slideshow-screensavers that automatically update in OS X (Apple has their own, which has shown the same 5 photos of Apple products for years now--the idea here is clearly a derivitive of that. They're THINKING about how to use available features... When you think of fresh content (unlike Apple's damn screensaver) you think of RSS, so I'm sure someone said, hey, let's do a slick Aqua-Pointcast thing for kicks.
If you don't understand how this could be useful, you are a total meathead. I usually don't like to get involved in Mac-PC arguments, but the vast majority of negative comments seem to be coming from an ANTI-Mac camp. Just relax, the RSS screensaver is not a personal attack on you. This would be great on Kiosks, it can be extended to show local weather, stocks, etc.
A great solution for a bank that wants to come up with their own "broadcast" to distract the people on line. Or a nice way for hotels to display upcoming events, a company to show off some recent client work. There are a ton of cool possibilities, it's all about showing LIVE data to a PASSIVE audience. The business uses are endless.
is there anything like this for PCs?
Imagination wrote: "...Wouldn't it be nice however, if you could publish an RSS feed of some photos, so that someone else could subscribe to an ever changing slideshow?..."
*Exactly* what I've been looking for, ever since I added a miniMac to my HD home theater! iTunes visualizer gets tiresome pretty quick, and my own photo library is getting old (as a screensaver). What I want is the visual equivalent of internet radio. Where is it?
Is there a Windows version of this screen saver? If so, please post a site link.
Thanks
NuParadigm's RSS Screenaver v1.2 has been released. New features include the ability to display multiple feeds, support for various feed types (RSS, ATOM, RDF), and various other features.
It's a free download @ http://www.nuparadigm.com/Products/Toys/RssScreensaver
omfg! thanks smart terminal dude ... uh, trevor. but ummm, I have Tiger 10.4.3 and I think that was inaccurate. I figured out to instead use this and it worked. Its awesome.
/System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework/Versions/A/Resources/ScreenSaverEngine.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreenSaverEngine -background &
---------------
oh and yeah I think this ss is cool but really theres no point in reading a screensaver thats stupid... as if anywone even uses RSS ... Psh!!