screensavers

St. Patrick's Day has changed much over the years. Once a feast to commemorate the Christianization of Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is now celebrated by guzzling green beer, sporting plastic top hats, and pinching anyone who isn't wearing green. Launch yourself into the March 17 spirit with this collection of Irish-themed downloads.

St. Patrick's Day Slide Show Images, blessings, and proverbs come together to make an entertaining slide show, with traditional Celtic tunes.

Shamrock's Gold Snatch the jackpot at the end of the rainbow with this Minesweeper-like puzzle game.

Drunken Leprechaun 3D St Patrick's Day Screensaver … Read more

I was surfing the Web flipping through my bookmarks Sunday afternoon when I found a great screensaver for both Windows and Mac. SurveillanceSaver cycles through more than 400 surveillance cameras from around the world. Before you begin fashioning a hat from tinfoil and closing all your blinds, I should note these cameras are mostly wide-sweeping live shots from various countries.

SurveillanceSaver cycles randomly through each camera giving you about 2 minutes to take in the surroundings before switching to a new camera. You'll get live streams of a blizzard in Helsingborg, Sweden, followed by a shot of a lonely … Read more

It's that time of year in the U.S. when frenzied Christmas shoppers flood the malls, winter storms wreak havoc throughout the country, and singles fret about finding the perfect date for New Year's Eve.

Like you, the staffers at CNET Download.com aren't immune to our own year-end holiday distractions, but we hope to lighten your seasonal load with helpful gift ideas, winter desktop treats, and do-it-yourself tech projects perfect for family gatherings.

First off, there's only one week left until Christmas, but whatever you do, don't panic! If you've got someone on … Read more

In the lane, snow is definitely glistening. 'Tis the time of the year to make your PC look like a snow globe, or at least that's what my Great-Uncle Boomer used to say. (At least it's true for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere.)

It's fine to add a little pizazz to your desktop with a seasonal screensavers, but be warned: Some of the holiday screensavers are oozing with cheese...and not the good kind. Those disco-dancing snowmen will haunt your dreams!

To avoid your computer (and you) looking like a corn dog in a cubicle … Read more

Well-built software that can inspire projects and streamline productivity is powerful indeed, but ill-conceived programs, too, can haunt your dreams. In this week's, CNET Top 5 video (also see below), editor Tom Merritt shares five terrifically bad apps you'd most likely encounter in a dark alley of your computer's recycle bin. This Chuck Norris Facts Widget is particularly chilling.

Plenty more ghoulish and gleeful downloads are standing by to ease you into the Halloween spirit. Three skeletons in pointed hats boogie down by moonlight (and UV lamplight) in Halloween Dance 3D Screensaver, a personal favorite. Your browser … Read more

When Digg first came out with its labs section, almost immediately people threw together unofficial screensavers for each of the visualizations. Since the visualizations run in Adobe Flash, the user creations often just loaded up the pages in a full-screen Flash viewer. Today, Digg has launched official versions of the screensavers for all four of their labs visualizations, which were originally put together by Stamen Design.

Just like the Web versions, you can sit back and watch the current activity on Digg as it's happening, and interact with any of the content. The screensavers are cross platform, and run … Read more

There are countless blogs across the world, but you can't read them all, of course. With the screensaver application Twingly, however, you can at least see every new blog post as it gets published...sort of. While Twingly appears to be a fascinating application, you may soon be overwhelmed by the random collection of nonsense and trivia--the "Um ... what?" post referenced in my title is a good example.

Twingly, which runs as a Windows screensaver or a standalone application, displays a never-ending string of new blog posts mapped around the world on an interactive globe. Click on any of the scrolling posts on the left side, and a precis of the post and its geographical location (if mapped) are displayed in the main interface. Click on the link in the blog excerpt, and you'll be transported to that page in your default browser.… Read more

With summer here in the northern hemisphere, many people are packing their bags, grabbing their plane tickets, and hopping a flight for a well-deserved vacation. Once on the plane, most of us face cramped seats, crying babies, and maybe a couple of bags of peanuts (if we're lucky). Most of the time, the promise of the destination is enough for us to deal with a long flight, and if all else fails, there's always the sweeping view of the country from the window seat.

This week, I rediscovered (it's now in version 2.0) a great screensaver … Read more

Mother's Day alert! While not categorically perceived as die-hard techies, moms can be quick to pick up new tech tricks when it suits their interests. Check out this collection of mom-friendly downloads sure to make your mom forgive all of those forgotten Mother's Days of the past.

For cross-stitch crazy matriarchs, check out this handy stitch-pattern designer and creator. If your mom is of the green-thumbed variety, she'll love this garden planner. And for the budget-conscious, save money by giving your mom this virtual desktop flower bouquet.