Although After Dark got its start on the Macintosh, this wonderful screen saver also found its way to the Windows side through the help of two equally talented, artistic souls, Bill Stewart and Ian MacDonald. I recently interviewed Bill Stewart.

• After Dark Screensaver Mac Download
• After Dark Screensaver

This was taken from my old LC 575 Mac with After Dark on it. The sound was transferred to my new iMac via audio cable. It is the TRUE version of the Flying T.

Tommy: It’s quite a pleasure to talk with you. How did After Dark see the light of day?

Bill: After Dark came into being because some people made some experiments for themselves, showed them to other people, and correctly observed the incredible wave of positive reaction.

It’s like Star Wars. George Lucas made Star Wars for himself, and fortunately his sense of story, mythos, and visual design resonated with millions of people.

Only when the creators truly satisfy their own yearnings can a really great product be made. After Dark was of this ilk. When you love your product, it’s completely different than working to spec. The graphics, the interface, the attention to detail. We took it as our personal mission to make it the best possible experience for users.

After Dark for Macintosh had a slow start, but the Windows version took off like a rocket as soon as it was released. By the 2.0 version of each, they were dual blockbusters.

Tommy: What and who were the creative forces behind After Dark?

Bill: Primarily, Jack Eastman, Ian MacDonald, and myself.

Ian MacDonald and I created a software experiment that we felt like sharing with the world on the primitive 1988 Internet. We named it the Magic ScreenSaver. We didn’t ask anyone to pay for it. A lot of people thought it was so cool that they sent us money without us even asking. They also sent ideas and bug reports.

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It’s hard to describe how nice it is to be paid for something you offer freely. We concentrated on the screen saver as a full time gig and resolved every technical issue while adding effects and features and formalizing how people could pay us. It took off like wildfire, and I knew at that moment we could sell millions with a commercially marketed version.

While this was going on, Jack Eastman created an experimental screen saver for himself on the Macintosh so he could write programs to assist his grad studies in physics. His really cool experiment turned into After Dark 1.0 for Macintosh, and ours turned into After Dark 1.0 for Windows.

There were many developers and artists who did excellent work. We all worked hard. Patrick Beard and Nick Rush were significant contributors to early software design, visual look, and marketing.

Tommy: In my mind, After Dark 2.0 had a “darkness”, a sense of the modules actually portraying the idea of “After Dark”, through many of the modules such as Nocturns, Zot, Starry Night, and others. Was this how you all envisioned After Dark and any future versions?

Bill: You’re right, After Dark 1.0 and 2.0 had a clear artistic point of view which conveyed the idea of “After Dark”. This was lost in later versions – it was just a collection of stuff, sometimes good, sometimes way off track.

Every product needs a clear vision, and things which are in sync with that vision are good, but if you stray, you might as well make a different product with a different name.

Tommy: On Dynamic Karma’s website, it mentions that they lost control of After Dark to Berkeley Systems. Do you feel they changed the direction and the creativity behind After Dark? If so, in what way?

Bill: Once you start making a lot of money at something, things change. A lot more people get involved, and sometimes people lose track of what the product was really about in the first place, spending too much time chasing markets to maximize return.

After Dark 3.0 proved the point that maximizing return doesn’t always work. Berkeley Systems tried to save money by removing Ian and I from development. Once you start making product decisions on that basis, it all falls down. When a product is about making money more than serving and delighting users, it loses the magic.

Tommy: In your mind, did you see the versions following 2.0 as being better or worse in terms of creativity? What you had hoped it would be?

Bill: Not as good, but not entirely bad. Unfortunately, there was too many problems as well.

Tommy: Have you or any of the other original team ever thought of releasing another screen saver in the spirit of After Dark 2.0 with the same “darkness” aspect?

Bill: I’m asked about this by fans every so often. I don’t think so. First, I wouldn’t even consider it with a different product name, and the time for the product is past. There was a time when the world wasn’t filled with eye candy, when most user interfaces were crude; in short, a time when something like After Dark could blow people away. I have many great ideas for screen savers that never saw the light of day, but the time when a screen saver could capture the public imagination is gone.

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I created two different screen saver engines and about 90 modules myself, so it’s okay that I have some stuff I didn’t get to.

I’m more interested now in creating products that today’s audience of sophisticated users would be as startled and amazed by as people were by After Dark. After Dark was influential; it showed that software could be really fun and functional and robust. Expanding the bounds of what is possible and blowing away today’s audience is more interesting now.

Tommy: What, in your mind, was the defining feature or part of After Dark that made it unique?

Bill: Ian and I understood what After Dark was about, and I think that was lost when we weren’t involved.

People didn’t really need After Dark. They were paying for that rarest of experiences, a product that could please, delight, and surprise you without crashing.

How many software programs ever do something unexpected that’s a good thing? Generally, unexpected results mean a crash or error, but millions of people would laugh and be surprised at toasters that could fly or setting the darkness of the toast or inside jokes or the rather fast graphics.

Remember, After Dark showcased compelling computer animation when almost nothing else did. For the time period, it was state of the art, considering it worked on 386 and 286 computers at 10 MHz. The key thing was that it had to be incredibly solid and excellent for a user or the magic would be gone. Without solid engineering, a user will no longer be receptive to wonderful things it can do.

Tommy: In your mind, will After Dark go down as the best screen saver in history?

Bill: For sure. It was robust and cool and tons of fun when hardly anything was. There are much more interesting graphical animations nowadays, but no screen saver will ever capture the imagination the way After Dark did.

Tommy: What was your favorite module of all time?

Bill: Hmm, tough call. Starry Night most purely expressed the idea of “After Dark”, but when you make this stuff, you have different reasons for liking them.

Personally, I liked the idea of modules you could play with, like the MultiModule that allowed you to layout multiple modules to play at the same time on different parts of the screen. It’s nice to give the users room to express themselves instead of just handing them what we’ve created.

After staring at and debugging Flying Toasters and other modules for a couple of years, 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, it’s not quite as thrilling for me as it is for a user who gets to experience it fresh. I kind of liked Puzzle, because it took me an afternoon to write and debug it, and it was about 20 lines of code (with liberal comments) while another programmer wrote 10 times as much code to do the same thing and it was hard to follow. Kind of made me feel smart at the time.

Tommy: What do you want those who are reading this article to know about After Dark that they may not know already?

Bill: Two things. I have always been thrilled to hear from happy users. It vindicates an artist’s work when people enjoy it. Sometimes people can’t put their finger on what they like so much, but After Dark just made them feel good. I like to see sales figures so I know lots of people like my work and I can afford to keep working on it, but I also like positive feedback from individuals.

The other thing people should know is that I am hard at work on something new that should amaze and delight the world, possibly even more than After Dark did.

Unofficial After Dark Updates and Replacements

When I finally [entered] the Mac world in 1999, the first program I looked for was After Dark 2.0. Thanks to the kindness of a Mac fan, I found 2.0 for Macintosh. It was truly wonderful to see my favorite program paired up with my favorite computer! I eventually bought my last After Dark screen saver, the 10th Anniversary Edition, in 2001.

Sadly, Sierra did not fix After Dark to work with OS 9. But there are plenty of dedicated After Dark fans out there, and thanks to one of them, After Dark for OS 9 was born. After Dark for OS 9 fixed the After Dark 4.0 engine so most modules would work in OS 9. It was released on the Macintosh Garden. A Google search should pull it up for you.

For OS X users, fear not – even you can get in on at least some of the After Dark goodness, in the form of After Dark X + Fish. Sadly, it’s limited to only a handful of modules. This package is available as shareware from Infinisys.

For those who have Tiger and just want the classic Flying Toaster screen saver, thanks to a company called Uneasy Silence you can download Retro Flying Toasters for free.

After Dark Screensaver Mac Download

For those who loved Lunatic Fringe, which was a part of More After Dark, you can get your fix from Sealie Software. A Word of caution: it will only work in the Classic environment under OS X, and you need the actual Lunatic Fringe module to run it.

There were two books published about After Dark, Cool Mac After Dark and Art of Darkness, both released in 1992. They include the basics on the early After Dark modules and give a little account of the history behind them. For a more in-depth look at these books, check out After Dark: The Books, published on TidBITS in 1992.

The wonder didn’t end on the computer screen or in books. There was plenty of After Dark goodness packed within a catalog of After Dark merchandise (included with the different versions of After Dark) that included neckties, mousepads, hats, and T-shirts, all emblazoned with the After Dark logo and mystique.

Best of all – drum roll – the inflatable Flying Toaster you could put anywhere. A true testament to the spirit and creativity that flowed through the veins of the After Dark creators and many others who worked countless days and nights, coding and creating away to bring us an unforgettable world of wonder.

Every time I see the Flying Toasters or hear the thunderous anthem that proudly reverberated around the world, singing the song that only a squadron of Flying Toasters could harmonize, I’ll remember that ol’ time feeling of wonder and amazement.

To Jack Eastman and Patrick Beard, the creators of After Dark for Macintosh, to Bill Stewart and Ian MacDonald, the creators of After Dark for Windows, and to the countless others who added their creative magic and awe-inspiring genius to After Dark throughout the years, thank you for creating a truly wonderful screen saver that will go down in history as the best. Along with Toaster-heads across the nation and around the world, I salute you with burnt toast in hand.

To Ian MacDonald and others who had a hand in After Dark, if you’re reading this, give me a ring at thomas (at) lowendmac (dot) com so you can tell your story. To the dedicated legions of After Dark fans, email me your fond memories and stories of After Dark. All emails (providing their authors give permission to publish) will be included in an upcoming Welcome to Macintosh article.

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Screensavers were originally created to prevent permanent image burn-in on cathode ray tube monitors. Modern displays don’t need this sort of protection. This is for two reasons. The technology doesn’t have a serious risk of burn-in or the displays have built-in burn-in protection.

That doesn’t mean screensavers aren’t useful or popular. They’re a good security measure, especially if you choose to require login details after the screensaver has activated. It also hides what’s on your screen when you’re not using your computer. At the very least, a good screensaver is simply nice to look at.

Sadly, the collection of screensavers that come with Windows 10 aren’t that great. So to help you bring some better eye candy to your desktop, here are 15 free, cool screensavers for Windows 10.

Note: We’ve scanned each screensaver through VirusTotal, but you should always check downloads yourself because things change!

Apple TV Aerial Views

If you’ve ever worked with an Apple TV set-top box before, you’ll know it comes packaged with some amazing footage that Apple commissioned for use as a screensaver. While this footage looks absolutely amazing on a large TV, many people wouldn’t mind it on their smaller computer screens either.

Sadly, Apple is unlikely to make a screensaver for Windows machines any time soon. Luckily the people behind this screensaver found a way to port those awesome videos over and the Apple TV Aerial Views screensaver worked flawlessly on our test machine’s ultrawide monitor.

We aren’t sure how much of a legal gray area this is, but Apple hasn’t tried to take this down yet. So enjoy it while they look the other way.

BSOD Screensaver

This cool screensaver was published all the way back in 2006, but it’s still both so ironic it’s cool and a great way to prank someone who doesn’t bother to lock their computer while away. This free screensaver shows a series of classic Windows error screens, popularly known as the Blue Screen of Death.

While this obviously won’t hurt your computer in any way, anyone else will think the machine is busted somehow. Just be aware that your IT repair guy might get a mild panic attack if you don’t warn them.

Pong Clock

Pong is one of the earliest examples of a video game and, just like Pacman, is pretty iconic. In fact, it’s hard to imagine any era in which this simple, crude replica of table tennis wouldn’t be considered retro-cool.

The Pong Clock was created by Mark Wilson for his own amusement, but since he last updated it in 2008, the screensaver has become a classic. It’s a simple concept. At the top of the screen you’ll see the current time, underneath the clock itself there’s an endless game of Pong playing for your amusement.

Mark also made sure that this is an actual screensaver. There are no static pixels at all. Even the Pong net shifts slightly to prevent burn-in. It’s not fancy, but as far as coolness is concerned the Pong Clock rates very highly in our books.

Sim Aquarium

Aquariums are awesome, but they are also lots of work and very expensive. You probably aren’t allowed one in your office either, so this Sim Aquarium screensaver is perfect for those who love aquatic life.

This isn’t one of those screensavers that play back a video recording of real fish. There’s nothing wrong with that of course, but this is a proper 3D-rendered screensaver, which means that you aren’t looking at the same loop over and over again. Of course, you need to have a GPU that’s up to the task.

The free version of the screensaver only has a few fish species and a single scene that only shows a sun-dappled water surface. If you want to unlock other scenes and species you’ll have to pay to unlock them. However, judged only on the free content, this is more than worth a download. It’s calming, beautiful and butter-smooth on the right hardware.

Plane9

Plane 9 is another cool screensaver that makes use of your computer’s 3D muscle, but there are no fish here. This is a collection of 250 3D scenes that visualize whatever audio you’re listening to. You can also mix scenes and customize the look and feel of the screensaver.

It’s generally abstract stuff and will appeal to people who remember the old WinAmp visualizer days. It’s great as something to stare at when you jam out to some tunes and maybe also good for your next house party.

Midnight Beach

There’s not much to say about Midnight Beach. It’s a beautiful scene of a boat on the beach at night. The water is lit by an absolutely gigantic moon as the waves wash in and out. The concept is simple and the execution is basically flawless.

We did however have some trouble with the screensaver on an ultrawide monitor. Using a normal 1080p screen worked perfectly however.

Polar Clock

This is another clock screensaver, but it’s probably unlike anything else you’ve ever seen. It uses a set of concentric circles for each level of timekeeping. There are ones for seconds, minutes and hours as you’d expect, but also for the day of the week, the date and the month.

As each circle fills, it resets and fills the next one a little more, giving you a colorful and unique view of the passage of time.

Flying Toaster Replica

Back in the early days of Windows there was a very popular screensaver package called After Dark. The most iconic screensaver from this collection is undoubtedly Flying Toasters. This free screensaver is one of the nicest attempts at recreating that magic. If you get what makes this cool, you’ll love this cool screensaver.

3D Rubik’s Cube

We all had a Rubik’s Cube at some point, but few of us ever solved one without cheating. If you’re still fascinated with this classic toy, this cool screensaver shows a beautiful 3D solution in real time. This is cool on so many levels and you might actually learn a few tricks.

Endless Slideshow

Endless Slideshow has a free and paid version, but even the free version offers a far superior product to the built-in photo slideshow screensaver Windows 10 ships with. You can set it to pull pictures from the internet or show your own collection.

You can also adjust the arrangement of images to fill the space modern screens have on offer. This is an essential download for anyone who wants a slideshow screensaver.

After Dark Screensaver

Back to the Future: Time Circuits

Heavy! What more do we need to say? This is a clock that looks like the time circuits from the Delorean in Back to the Future. If you don’t think that’s the coolest thing ever we don’t want to hear it.

System 47

The computer operating system seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation is called LCARS. It’s an iconic sci-fi design and has been pretty influential on a generation of interface designers.

The System 47 screensaver is one of the best LCARS screensavers we’ve seen and when has Start Trek not been cool?

Dr Who: Tardis 3D

The world is going through a Whovian revolution and what’s more iconic to the franchise than the Tardis, the police box time travel machine the Doctor uses as transport? The screensaver has a very nice render of the Tardis, but also includes awesome stills from the history of the show.

Nyan Cat

Nyan Cat is a meme that’s never died, but even if this confectionary kitty is no longer quite the hot topic, it makes for a wonderfully colorful (and perhaps ironically cool) screensaver. Feel the rainbow and let your silly side show a bit with this neat little screensaver.

Electric Sheep

Electric Sheep (which is probably a reference to the Philip K. Dick story) is much more than it first appears. While it might look a little like visualizer screensavers such as Plane 9 at first, this is actually a collaborative community screensaver.

Each of the abstract animations are called “sheep”. While the screensaver is running, you can vote a sheep up or down using the cursor keys. So as a group, everyone using the screensaver helps the visuals change and adapt. Equal parts art project and practical screensaver, there’s something undeniably cool about Electric Sheep.