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Fun With Transparent Screen Backgrounds

Posted by Zonk on from the early-in-the-am-on-easter-morning dept.

herberts writes "Looks like the amusement factor of 'transparent' screen background is getting bigger and bigger. The french Mac fan site Mac Bidouille opened up a dedicated part of their web site where fans can post shots of their transparent backgrounds." Other great transparent background shots can be found at Flickr.

10 of 450 comments (clear)

  1. Wow... by mark-t · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Some people have entirely too much time on their hands.

    --
    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
    1. Re:Wow... by Barlo_Mung_42 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I was going to ask why this phenomenon only seems to be a Mac thing. Now it's clear to me.

    2. Re:Wow... by zwilliams07 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yeah we have to do something with that time we have not running antivirus, antispyware, and other maintenance tools.

  2. Very cool by FuturePastNow · · Score: 4, Insightful

    But also very transient- move the computer, or just look at it from another angle, and the effect is destroyed.

    And it has to be said: These people have way too much time on their hands!

    --
    Give a man fire, and you warm him for the night. Set a man on fire, and you warm him for the rest of his life.
    1. Re:Very cool by aurelian · · Score: 4, Insightful

      still wouldn't work because the viewpoint would be different. e.g. But I guess you could assume a typical user viewpoint and just try and get it right for that.

    2. Re:Very cool by Jeffrey+Baker · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Of course it would work. Haven't you ever seen an LCD screen that lays on top of an overhead projector? You can see right through it when it's projecting white.

      When your laptop screen is all white, you're looking directly at the backlight.

  3. Live, with a webcam? by lewiz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It looks like these are all staged. They look pretty cool but I'd be a damn site more impressed if if could be done "live" with a webcam behind the monitor... :-)

  4. Not likely to work well by AvantLegion · · Score: 4, Insightful
    An image created by that USB camera would show what's behind the monitor from the camera eye's perspective, not yours.

  5. Looks good in 2D not in 3 by cliffjumper222 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    These look extremely good when you set them up and then snap the result BUT they do not look any good at all or convincing when you try it in real life. I know because I'm so sad I tried it on Friday when this story first came out on gizmodo.com or engadget.com (always get those mixed up). If you really want to have a go remember:
    1) You really need to use a laptop because shifting a CRT monitor or even an LCD panel is tough, flicking it down is easy.
    2) Try to match the resolution of the camera to the screen size otherwise you'll have to stretch it to get it to fit right. Even then it won't look right because it only looks right from one position.
    3) Get a app that lets you tint and alter the gamma of the photos. My digital camera's white balance just didn't create the same yucky yellow tint that my office strip lights have. Couldn't match it at all.
    4) Admit that honestly, if what's behind your PC monitor is a dusty cube wall it's probably not worth looking at anyway, and no, you won't fool anyone.

  6. Ahh, it appears.. by Deal-a-Neil · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ..the reason that we haven't yet come up with a cure for AIDS or cancer is that all of our scientific minds are engaged in activities that far more pressing, such as transparent backgrounds. Just joking, this sh*t's important.

    This kind of reminds me of that HP photo/camera commercial, where that fellow snags frames out of the air, capturing screen shots from live motion in the foreground and background with each one he grabs.