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After Dark (software)
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After Dark (software)
After Dark is a series of computer screensaver software introduced by Berkeley Systems in 1989 for the Apple Macintosh, and in 1991 for Microsoft Windows.
After the original, additional editions included More After Dark, Before Dark, and editions themed around licensed properties such as Star Trek, The Simpsons, Looney Tunes, Marvel, and Disney characters.
The program allowed for the development and use of third-party modules supplementary to the original program, and hundreds of such modules were created during the main period of its popularity.
The most famous of the included screensaver modules is Flying Toasters, which featured 1940s-style chrome toasters sporting bird-like wings, flying across the screen with pieces of toast. Engineer Jack Eastman claims he thought of the display after seeing a toaster in a kitchen during a late-night programming session and imagining the addition of wings, although the winged toasters bear a strong resemblance to those on the cover of Jefferson Airplane’s 1973 album Thirty Seconds Over Winterland. A slider in the Flying Toasters module enabled users to adjust the toast's darkness, and an updated Flying Toasters Pro module added a choice of music—Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries or a flying toaster anthem with optional karaoke lyrics. Yet another version named Flying Toasters! added bagels and pastries, baby toasters, and more elaborate toaster animation. The Flying Toasters were one of the main reasons that After Dark became popular, and Berkeley began to produce other merchandising products such as T-shirts with the Flying Toaster image and slogans such as "The 51st Flying Toaster Squadron: On a mission to save your screen!"
The toasters were the subject of two lawsuits, the first in 1993, Berkeley Systems vs Delrina Corporation, concerning a module of Delrina's screensaver Opus 'N Bill in which Opus the penguin shoots down the toasters. After a U.S. District judge ruled that Delrina's "Death Toasters" was infringing, Delrina later changed the wings of the toasters to propellers. The second case was brought in 1994 by 1960s rock group Jefferson Airplane who claimed that the toasters were a copy of the winged toasters featured on the cover of their 1973 record album Thirty Seconds Over Winterland. The case was dismissed because the cover art had not been registered as a trademark by the group prior to Berkeley Systems' release of the screensaver.
A 3D version of the toasters featuring swarms of toasters with airplane wings, rather than bird wings, is available for XScreenSaver.
In 1997, Berkeley Systems was acquired by the Sierra On-Line division of CUC International. Joan Blades and Wes Boyd, the founders of Berkeley Systems, later created MoveOn.org. Ed Fries, co-developer of the popular Fish! screensaver, became vice president of game publishing at Microsoft.
The Bad Dog TV series, based on the After Dark module of the same name, was produced by CinéGroupe and Saban Entertainment for the Teletoon and Fox Family Channel networks that was first broadcast by Teletoon on March 1, 1999.
Hub AI
After Dark (software) AI simulator
(@After Dark (software)_simulator)
After Dark (software)
After Dark is a series of computer screensaver software introduced by Berkeley Systems in 1989 for the Apple Macintosh, and in 1991 for Microsoft Windows.
After the original, additional editions included More After Dark, Before Dark, and editions themed around licensed properties such as Star Trek, The Simpsons, Looney Tunes, Marvel, and Disney characters.
The program allowed for the development and use of third-party modules supplementary to the original program, and hundreds of such modules were created during the main period of its popularity.
The most famous of the included screensaver modules is Flying Toasters, which featured 1940s-style chrome toasters sporting bird-like wings, flying across the screen with pieces of toast. Engineer Jack Eastman claims he thought of the display after seeing a toaster in a kitchen during a late-night programming session and imagining the addition of wings, although the winged toasters bear a strong resemblance to those on the cover of Jefferson Airplane’s 1973 album Thirty Seconds Over Winterland. A slider in the Flying Toasters module enabled users to adjust the toast's darkness, and an updated Flying Toasters Pro module added a choice of music—Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries or a flying toaster anthem with optional karaoke lyrics. Yet another version named Flying Toasters! added bagels and pastries, baby toasters, and more elaborate toaster animation. The Flying Toasters were one of the main reasons that After Dark became popular, and Berkeley began to produce other merchandising products such as T-shirts with the Flying Toaster image and slogans such as "The 51st Flying Toaster Squadron: On a mission to save your screen!"
The toasters were the subject of two lawsuits, the first in 1993, Berkeley Systems vs Delrina Corporation, concerning a module of Delrina's screensaver Opus 'N Bill in which Opus the penguin shoots down the toasters. After a U.S. District judge ruled that Delrina's "Death Toasters" was infringing, Delrina later changed the wings of the toasters to propellers. The second case was brought in 1994 by 1960s rock group Jefferson Airplane who claimed that the toasters were a copy of the winged toasters featured on the cover of their 1973 record album Thirty Seconds Over Winterland. The case was dismissed because the cover art had not been registered as a trademark by the group prior to Berkeley Systems' release of the screensaver.
A 3D version of the toasters featuring swarms of toasters with airplane wings, rather than bird wings, is available for XScreenSaver.
In 1997, Berkeley Systems was acquired by the Sierra On-Line division of CUC International. Joan Blades and Wes Boyd, the founders of Berkeley Systems, later created MoveOn.org. Ed Fries, co-developer of the popular Fish! screensaver, became vice president of game publishing at Microsoft.
The Bad Dog TV series, based on the After Dark module of the same name, was produced by CinéGroupe and Saban Entertainment for the Teletoon and Fox Family Channel networks that was first broadcast by Teletoon on March 1, 1999.