Catfood Software Blog

Twitter Public Timeline Screensaver

This screensaver shows the twitter public timeline, posting a new tweet every three seconds. I wrote it while experimenting with the twitter API and I love watching the deluge of random thoughts.



Download CatfoodTwitterScreensaver.exe. Once downloaded right-click the file and choose Install (Now packaged in an installer so just run / double-click to install the screensaver).

The screensaver requires that .NET 2.0 is installed. You probably have this but it you see an error when you try to run the screensaver you might need to install it. (.NET now automatically installed if needed)

If you don't see any updates (just a blue screen) make sure that your firewall is configured to allow TwitterPublicTimeline.scr to access the Internet.

If you have any problems get in touch here. Please leave a comment on this post for any feature requests. Also, if you like the screensaver please follow @CatfoodSoftware.

(Updated 2009-02-25 to 1.00.0080: Improved tweet display and support systems with multiple monitors.)

(2009-04-22: Profile pictures aren't displaying correctly at the moment - you just get the default twitter image. This is a known issue with the Twitter API. As soon as the Twitter bug is fixed the screensaver should start displaying the right pictures again.)

(Updated 2009-05-08 to 1.10.0138: You can now add your own account (or accounts) to follow as well as the public timeline. Colors are also now configurable. I've added an installer so just download and run to get started.)

Labels: Tools, Twitter

Posted by Rob on 2/01/2009, 6 comments. (Bookmark & Share)

Comments

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How do I configurate the colors exactly? Is there a description for all the possible changes?

By  Anonymous, at May 16, 2009 11:45 AM  

First, make sure you have the latest version (1.10 at the moment).

Open the screen saver dialog - on Windows XP this is Control Panel -> Display Settings -> Screen Saver. On Vista it's Control Panel -> Personalization -> Screen Saver.

Make sure that Twitter Public Timeline is selected and click Settings.

The main settings screen lets you set the background / text colors. Click Canvas and Text to change the colors and you'll see the sample update.

For individual tweets pick an account in the list and click Edit. You can then set the various colors and see what they look like on a sample tweet.

By  Rob, at May 16, 2009 12:06 PM  

how do i configure my firewall? i keep getting the blue blackground?

By  Anonymous, at July 16, 2009 5:14 AM  

Anonymous - the process is "Twitter Public Timeline.scr" and is in C:\Windows\System32 (assuming your Windows installation is in the default folder). Your firewall should allow you to add an exception for this process. If this doesn't help, email me and let me know which firewall you're using.

By  Rob, at July 16, 2009 8:43 AM  

Hi Rob, I love the screensaver, but you are missing one feature that i am really looking for. I want to see a public timeline with a search term. Only watch certain topics. Are you working on that as a feature?

By  Anonymous, at September 29, 2009 7:32 AM  

Anonymous - It's on the wish list. I'll count this as another vote for adding an option to track search results.

By  Rob, at September 29, 2009 9:45 AM  

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