Sleeper 2.0.4
Review

Sleeper 2.0.4
Shareware: $20.00

Here is a neat program that should already be a part of the system software for all Macs, not just for the PCI and Powerbooks. Sleeper 2.0.4 is a control panel that lets you spin down your SCSI hard disks, put your Energy Star compliant monitor to sleep, and allows you to prevent screen burn via a built-in screen saver.

Disk sleep allows you to spin down up to six hard disks together, wake up all disks together, or spin down only when the screen is dimmed. You can also set the time at which the drives will spin down, wake up, etc. The screen saver not only allows you to select the amount of time but also set the brightness at which you want it to dim. Also, you can select which corners of the monitor you want it to sleep and wake up in. The energy star feature enables you to power down the monitor when you leave the computer idle for the allotted amount of time you’ve set. To top this off, you can set a series of hot keys to enable all of these features at once. For example, on my Mac, ctrl-b would spin down my hard disk and power down the monitor simultaneously. Then, to wake up the computer, you can either move the mouse or type the hot key sequence and the computer will wake up.

This program is a definite must for any Macintosh user who leaves their computer on the whole day. It makes your computer quieter and most of all, more cost efficient! If you don’t leave your computer idle for long amounts of time, then this program is not worth the $20.00. But I recommend this program because of its ease of use and organized look.

You may e-mail the author of Sleeper at: gotow@stclairsw.com