Nudge your Mac awake with Jiggler

The energy saver and screen saver settings on the Mac are great for powering down the computer when it's not in use. It can be a real annoyance, though, when they kick in unexpectedly and put your computer to sleep -- especially if you're monitoring an IRC channel or burning a CD.

Jiggler is a small freeware application specifically designed to keep your Mac from falling asleep by wiggling your mouse at whatever intervals you choose. You can also set Jiggler to run when certain conditions are met, such as music playing in iTunes or when the computer is in obvious "work mode" (the CPU usage is at least 50%). When it engages, the cursor moves around for a couple of seconds and the app's icon flashes on the screen to let you know it's working.

Jiggler is a small app with a small footprint (around 300 KB), that comes without a lot of unecessary bells and whistles. It performed flawlessly in our trials, though, so if you're looking for a way to keep your Mac awake while your doing other things, give Jiggler a whirl (or a wiggle?).

Tags: freeware, jiggler, mac, shareware, sleep