Tech Tip: Kernel Panic Screen Saver.

We'd like to offer up a perfect April Fools Day prank to play on the Mac users in your life — the Kernel Panic screen saver. Download and install this beauty onto your target's Mac. The result is a harmless (see warning) screensaver that faithfully emulates the horrifying experience of a Mac kernel panic.

Doomslaser: Kernel Panic Screensaver.

Or, if you've got a friend who uses a PC, we've got something for you too. Someone in Redmond obviously has a sense of humor, because the Microsoft TechNet site hosts a Windows screen saver that emulates the infamous Blue Screen of Death:

BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) Screensaver.

Have a fun (and safe) April Fools day tomorrow.

WARNING: The screensaver itself is perfectly harmless — move your mouse and the false screen error disappears. But this joke could cause real pain if you are not there to step in. If your victim thinks their computer has crashed, they are likely to restart their computer (as the Kernel Panic screen instructs) which could lose any unsaved work.

Source: It has been a while since our weekly publishing schedule overlapped with April Fools day. Our last April Fools day issue was back in April 1, 2005 when we offered up a tip to Turn your friend's Mac into Windows XP. The year after that, we didn't publish a April Fools tip, but we did provide a tip on Troubleshooting a Mac OS X Kernel Panic.

Creative Tip: You Suck at Photoshop.

Full Tip: You Suck at Photoshop.

Source: We watch a lot of Photoshop tutorials at CreativeTechs, and we've been laughing about these for several months now. It's nice to have an excuse to share them. Enjoy.

Seattle Training: Upcoming Workshops.

Wed, Apr 2 - Using Adobe Lightroom.
Thu, Apr 3 - Photoshop CS3: Nondestructive Retouching. FREE!
Wed, Apr 9 - InDesign: Working with Microsoft Word.
Thu, Apr 10 - Photoshop CS3: Nondestructive Cloning.
Wed, Apr 16 - InDesign: Tables & Table Styles.
Thu, Apr 17 - Photoshop CS3: Color Adjustment Layers.
Wed, Apr 23 - Acrobat: Acrobat Forms.
Thu, Apr 24 - Photoshop CS3: By Request - Topic Needed!*

*The last Thursday of each month we create a new Photoshop workshop from the requests of our clients. We are still looking for that great topic idea. Would you like to recommend or suggest a topic? Please send an email to training@creativetechs.com.

Your referrals wanted! Referrals from our clients and readers are what keeps CreativeTechs healthy and in business. As a small thank-you, every week we send a Free Mini-Workshop Pass to new Seattle-area subscribers, plus the friend or colleague who referred them:

Creative manager Lisa Robbins at UW Creative Services.
Referred by graphic designer David Wolbrecht at UW Creative Services.

Senior designer Charlie Worcester at Hodgson/Meyers.
Referred by Seattle Mac IT consultant Tim Hannon of Sound Support.

CreativeTechs QuickTips is a free weekly newsletter for creative professionals who use Macs. Each week we publish a fresh mix of left-brain and right-brain tips based on our real world experience supporting hundreds of creative teams in the greater Seattle area. For a complete archive of previous tips, visit www.creativetechs.com/tips

For IT Professionals supporting Mac users, visit Make Mac Work. This weekly technical blog focuses on IT issues facing Macs in Enterprise environments. It is written by CreativeTechs' lead enterprise engineer, Jordan Bojar. For an archive of previous topics, visit www.makemacwork.com

Your referrals wanted! CreativeTechs relies on word-of-mouth introductions. If you know a Seattle-area creative team who might benefit from our unique expertise providing computer support for creative professionals, please introduce us. We are never too busy for your referrals. Email help@creativetechs.com, or call us at 206-682-4315.

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