You can keep in contact with the high frontier without even launching your web browser. Use the software options below to have the latest information from Riding with Robots delivered automatically to your computer.
Free downloads
Riding with Robots:
1. Widget
Widgets are mini-applications for your desktop. The Riding with Robots widget serves up the most recent picture from the site, automatically updated every day or two. It has been the featured download on Apple's official Dashboard site, as well as in iCreate magazine, MacGadget magazine and other publications. Choose one or more of the following:
A) NEW! Yahoo! Widget for Mac and Windows - v2.0
You can now get the next version of the Riding with Robots widget as a widget for the Yahoo! Widget Engine. If you don’t have it already, install the Yahoo! widgets application, then download and unzip the Riding with Robots widget and double-click it. Enhancements include instant updating, and the ability to scroll through several recent space pictures at once. These features will shortly go into the other flavors of the widget found below. Please send in your feedback.
B) Dashboard Widget for Mac - v1.1
This is the one that started it all, the Riding with Robots widget for Dashboard. Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger is required. If you're using Safari, click the download link. When the widget download is complete, show Dashboard, click the Plus sign to display the Widget Bar and click the widget's icon in the Widget Bar to open it. If you're using a browser other than Safari, click the download link. When the widget download is complete, unarchive it and place it in /Library/Widgets/ in your home folder. Show Dashboard, click the Plus sign to display the Widget Bar and click the widget's icon in the Widget Bar to open it.
C) SuperKaramba Theme for Linux - v0.1
This simple SuperKaramba theme is a Linux/UNIX implementation of the Riding With Robots widget. Double-clicking the widget will launch Firefox and bring you to the site. More information available at KDE-Look.org.
D) Opera Widget for Windows, Mac, Linux and others - v0.1
2. Screen saver
The Riding with Robots screen saver, available for Mac only for now, downloads the latest Riding with Robots pictures and displays them when your computer is idle. The images are updated automatically every week or so. To install the screen saver, download the following Quartz file and place it in /Library/Screen Savers/ in your home folder. Then open the Desktop and Screen Saver control panel in System Preferences and choose the Riding with Robots screen saver.
You can browse the library of past screen saver pictures -- some of these make good desktop wallpapers, too.
The free Riding with Robots widget, available for Mac, Windows and Linux, brings you the latest first-hand sights from the planets.
Now in development: version 2, which will let you scroll through several pictures at once.