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Show HN: A Native Art Gallery for the Mac

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Re: Show HN: A Native Art Gallery for the Mac

#31

Post by Sidnicious »

codefined wrote: post #11
Sidnicious wrote: post #7

Another approach is to create a window at desktop level. It can even display a web page with a system web view — you probably want to opt the window out of receiving mouse events, too, to avoid interfering with drag selection on the Desktop. I do that at home with a local HTML file to randomly generate a desktop background at startup, and I’ve tried dynamic content (like a countdown clock). Code here: https://github.…

I recently looked into doing this for my Windows laptop, but found that it halved the battery life. Is this also a problem with running stuff like this on Macs?

If your app/web page isn’t doing work in the background and doesn’t receive mouse events, the energy impact should be close to nil — it should sit solidly at 0.0% CPU usage in Activity Monitor, else something isn’t right.

Re: Show HN: A Native Art Gallery for the Mac

#32

Post by cooper12 »

nullicorn wrote: post #14

I see these kind of projects often, and I’m not sure how I feel about them. Art is more than just something nice to look at. By turning these pieces of art into wallpapers, it feels like the meaning, context, and significance are being stripped away. And you are missing the entire point. I could be entirely wrong as I’m no art expert.

Yeah it's like putting music on in the background while you're doing something. You won't actually be paying attention to the lyrics or the notes that much compared to actively listening to a song.

Re: Show HN: A Native Art Gallery for the Mac

#34

Post by codazoda »

acmecorps wrote: post #16

I think I'm the only one who rarely look at my desktop. Most of the time, it's been covered by windows/apps.

I've setup a second monitor on my desk. I rarely use it, because I'm away so much, so it just shows art or whatever I'm into at the moment.

I also threw a folder onto Google photos and then linked that up with a Chromecast on one of the office TVs. Perfect for art. I think the original tool could work great in both cases.

Re: Show HN: A Native Art Gallery for the Mac

#37

Post by jakear »

mcjiggerlog wrote: post #21
poignard wrote: post #4

I've been using an app called artpip for a while, it's great: https://www.artpip.com/

Creator of Artpip here. Came to suggest it as an alternative. Happy to answer any questions! Also @OP - you might want to take a look at the wallpaper-macos[0] lib that I developed for Artpip. It uses the nodobj node wrapper but it should be a useful reference. You don't need to read from the sqlite DB or deal with restarting the dock. You can reliably get the current wallpaper like so [1]. Also you might want to che…

Just downloaded your app, as I was looking for a more curated solution that what OP provides (I don't know enough about art to make my own selection).

One quick question I had was if it is possible to have Artpip only apply a background to one screen. I have an external monitor and I'd prefer if the two didn't always show the same wallpaper. Additionally, I have one personal wallpaper I particularity enjoy, and would like if I could keep that permanently on one monitor, while simultaneously running Artpip on the other.

Re: Show HN: A Native Art Gallery for the Mac

#38

Post by will_walker »

hedgehog wrote: post #15
codefined wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently looked into doing this for my Windows laptop, but found that it halved the battery life. Is this also a problem with running stuff like this on Macs?

Negligible energy consumption. I wrote a desktop timelapse wallpaper app for Mac that creates a below-the-desktop window containing a movie player and then plays the movie stretched over 24 hrs. Energy impact was small, something like 0.1 in Activity Monitor.

Is this something you would care to share? This would be ideal for watching Wong Kar-wai films.

Re: Show HN: A Native Art Gallery for the Mac

#39

Post by npgatech »

stephengillie wrote: post #13

I collect Maps of the World in a Dropbox folder, and tell Windows auto rotate to use this folder. So I see a different perspective or interpretation of "The World" every 10 minutes. Some are just regions - USA, Europe, China, etc. Most are actual maps - places listed by Google searches or names translated from their native tongue, etc. A few are visualizations of the tallest mountains or longest rivers.

That's super cool; would you mind sharing your folder?
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