Publicspace.net has released MacBreakZ version 4.0 beta 1, a public beta version of their “break timer” for Mac OS X. It’s available for download now — MacBreakZ costs $9.95.
MacBreakZ encourages “healthy computing habits” by making you take a period break from working on your computer. The software walks you through stretching exercises to help you reduce the likelihood of getting repetitive strain injuries from unsafe computing use.
The new release has been redesigned and rewritten, according to the developers, and uses Mac OS X “Tiger’s” transparency and layering features be less intrusive than traditional break timers. Colorful stretching exercises have been illustrated by a cartoonist, and the new version has been rebuilt using Apple’s Cocoa application development environment.