Learn with a Screensaver
Mac Tip #440, 09 June 2010

Learn a new word every day, or check on RSS feeds through the Mac’s built-in screensavers.

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Set a screensaver

Screen Saver System Preference.

To set a screensaver in Mac OS X Snow Leopard:

1. Open System Preferences from the Apple menu or Dock.
2. Click on Desktop & Screen Saver in the top row.
3. Click on the Screen Saver tab. Screensaver options are revealed.
4. Select the patterns, pictures or words you want to see from the Screen Savers column on the left. The Preview at the right shows an example of what that option will look like. To see a full-screen demo click the Test button.
5. See How to ‘lock’ your Mac’s screen for details about the delay slider and Hot Corners.

Words or pictures?

RSS Visualizer preview.

Many of the screensaver options display pretty graphics. My favourite is Arabesque, with the clock showing.

Other options though give you something to read, such as the RSS Visualizer and Word of the Day. That’s where this becomes very interesting.

Set up the RSS Visualizer

The RSS Visualizer displays recent items from an RSS feed of your choice. For example, the feed for MacTips is at http://feeds.feedburner.com/mactips/PETA.

To set an RSS feed to be displayed:

1. Select RSS Visualizer as the Screen Saver.
2. Click the Options… button below the Preview section. The Feed selection dialog box appears.
3. If you use Safari to read RSS feeds, those feeds will be listed in the dialog box. In that case, select a feed from the list.
4. If you’d like to add a feed not listed under Safari then add the correct address into the Feed URL text box below the list of feeds.
5. Move the Article display duration slider to set how long each items should stay on screen before giving way to the next item. Times range from 7 to 23 seconds.
6. Click the Done button to confirm your choices.

Now, when the screensaver displays it shows the headline and first 20 or so words from the first few items in turn of the RSS feed. It also includes a link to read the full article online: Press the “1″ key to read more. The number changes for each item.

Word of the Day preview.

Set up the Word of the Day

The Word of the Day helps build your vocabulary by displaying words, together with their pronunciation, meaning and a link to read more in the Dictionary.

To set the Word of the Day to be displayed:

1. Select Word of the Day as the Screen Saver.
2. Click the Options… button below the Preview section. The Dictionary choice panel appears.
3. Choose a dictionary from the drop-down menu. On my Mac the choices are:
   • Automatic
   • New Oxford American Dictionary
   • A Japanese dictionary.
4. Click the Done button to confirm your choice.

Now, when the screensaver displays it shows a word with its pronunciation and meaning. It also includes a link to read more in the Dictionary app: Press the D key to see more.

Each word stays on screen for around 30 seconds before being replaced with another word.

Tell us in the Comments at the website your experiences with using screen savers together with RSS feeds or Word of the Day.