Sneak preview: Engadget RSS feed as seen via Tiger Quartz Extreme

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]

[bensyverson @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Would make a nice screensaver, but I don't know if I'd want to read my news this way...

[mark @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Big deal. Wasn't Pointcast doing this, like, 8 years ago?

[atnight @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

i've seen this before, and it was done on a stripper pole

[Brian @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

I got dizzy watching that.

[Hector D @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

With a black background I am sure it would be nice and convenient.

[narco @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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.

[norebonomis @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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?

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

"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

[Duncan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

So slick!

[Desert @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

"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.

[Long Tran @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

damn the quartz engine is amazing!

[spazmo @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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.

[Zac @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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.

[Aaron @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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.

[egarc @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

#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.

[Monmin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

wow! 14 posts and not one of them from CARMI!!! WOoot!

[Joseph Briggs @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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.

[Timothy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Yes, but very cool shiny things ;)

[Digi Nice @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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?

[abhi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

The next purchase has to be a Mac. Wow!

[heinzkunz @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

#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.

[Graham @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

"Marst" 2005? isnt it March?

[Brad @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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.

[tf @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

"Slick for slick's sake is not very slick at all."

It's a FREAKIN' SCREENSAVER. EVERY screensaver is SLICK for SLICK sake.

[Luke @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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.

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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.

[Long Zheng @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

A screen saver is suppose to save your monitor from being blown out. Not brighten it to hell and add all lightest (harshest) colors.

[diggiti @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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 !!!

[tf @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

"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.

[Joshua Ochs @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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.

[Luke @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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?

[Digi Nice @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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.

[Mike Manzano @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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.

[diggiti @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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

[Digi Nice @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

"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.

[Digi Nice @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

"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.

[nleco @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

you guys sure are passionate when it comes to apple stuff...

I like pizza.

[shidoshi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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.

[Luke @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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!

[goober @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

screensavers are stupid

[Luke @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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

[Brandon Paddock @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

"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.

[Ryan Green @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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.

[duncan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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.

[Vic Healey @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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

[MOGua @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

pointless...

I would rather read my RSS feeds rendered on random wooden posts in the World of Warcraft then a screen saver.

[Micheal @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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

[cal @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

video, html, flash etc. on polys - now *that's* a screensaver... :) windows only right now though

[Digi Nice @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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)

[Trevor @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

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 &