BlackWatch

BlackWatch is a screen saver application that provides the ability to lock your screen with password protection. It's small, quick, simple, compatible, and free.

BlackWatch 1.5.5 runs on any Macintosh (or Mac-compatible) computer capable of running System 7.0 or later. This includes everything from the Macintosh Plus to the Power Macintosh G4. The application is distributed as a "fat" binary, with native code for both 68K and PowerPC machines. It will run in 64K of RAM (128K or more is recommended).

Send comments and bug reports to thecloud@apple.com.

(12/12/00)
Summary of changes in version 1.5.5:
- Rewrote the "fade immediately when system sleeps" code to eliminate problems with the menu bar being hidden or disabled after waking from sleep.
- Fixed a bug which turned the Rainbow logo into a "sour apple" green color.
- Fixed a bug where the background color wasn't restored after drawing the notification banner, causing anti-aliased digits in the clock display to be rendered incorrectly.
- Fixed a bug introduced in 1.5.4 which caused the About box to move closer to the right edge of your screen each time you selected it from the Apple menu.
- Fixed a bug introduced in 1.5.4 which kept Command-period from dismissing the password dialog.
- BlackWatch now handles changes in display configuration that occur while it's sleeping (e.g. when an external monitor is connected to a PowerBook.)
- The preferred memory size is now set to 256K by default. Note that BlackWatch will still run fine in 128K of RAM on any standard Mac OS system (or even less, if you avoid opening Preferences.) However, many users install a dizzying array of third-party extensions, fonts, drivers, and other system add-ons which tend to increase per-application memory requirements. The new preferred size should prevent "Type 25" (out of memory) errors associated with excessively bloated system folders.

1.5.5 is the first version of BlackWatch to avoid introducing new features (it contains only bug fixes, and appears to be the most stable version to date.) It's also the first version to be smaller in size than the one preceding it.

(8/23/00)
A patch for Retrospect (versions 4.0 through 4.3) is now available. This patch enables Retrospect to launch in the background when performing a scheduled backup, making it fully compatible with BlackWatch.

Here's what users have been saying about BlackWatch:

"BlackWatch is excellent, and will very soon be the minimalist screensaver of choice for the Mac."

"I like it because it is simple and functional."

"Very useful and great!!"

"The ONLY screensaver I've tried so far that hasn't caused conflicts."

"Addresses the screensaver bloatware issue with style and grace."

Photo courtesy of M. Jamie Self.


Last updated Tuesday, December 12, 2000 by KCM