The Dashboard on my Mac perplexes me. While it feels like it should be a great productivity tool, the truth is that I rarely think to open it. I have widgets for everything from weather to my calendar and todos, and even financial information. And yet, if I never look at them, what good are they?

I started wondering if anyone else thought that Dashboard widgets would make a good screen saver, since that would ensure that they would be staring me in the face when I came back to my computer. And as it turns out, Andrew Turner thought so, as he developed a Mac screen saver called DashSaver for just this purpose.

DashSaver installs as a screen saver, and simply launches your Dashboard when the normal time has elapsed and your regular screen saver would show. There are no frills whatsoever in this tiny download. But beware - if you regularly lock your computer, DashSaver may not be for you. As per the release notes, it can't show the dashboard until the computer is unlocked, effectively leaving you without a screen saver showing.

It's worth noting that no changes have been made to DashSaver since April of 2006, so this program hasn't been updated since OS X Tiger. In my testing, however, it works just fine under Leopard.

Obviously, if you have sensitive or personal information on your Dashboard and your computer is not always in complete privacy, DashSaver probably isn't for you. But if you are looking for a way to keep those Dashboard widgets more top-of-mind, it might be worth a try. DashSaver is a free Mac download.

• Choose a background color
• Set an input method to wake up the computer (mouse click, mouse movement, customized hot key, etc...)

All the innovations on the web and the advances in technology, and we still can't come up with non-crappy screensavers easily. Most sites you visit are filled with less-than-par graphics and dumb trial/spam/ad/crapware. This is where you come in. For those who don't know where to go, or what screensavers are decent, with no crapware installation or computer hijacking software tagging along, tell us all what your favorite holiday screensaver is and where you can go to get it. Give us some features, the install/uninstall process, and what your over-all feeling of the saver is. Why? Mostly because inquiring minds want to know, and duh, our readers are the experts on such matters. You can put up to 3 links in the comments if you feel so inclined. Let it snow (on your monitor)! What is your favorite screensaver or site to get screensavers for the holidays?