Here are three really useless pieces of software for the Mac, ranging from funny-cool to incredibly annoying, and yet you may want to try them all for a laugh.

The first:

Open the app, and it will self-close. After that, clicking the mouse anywhere will result in the same sound as squeezing a dog’s squeaky toy. It’s not fully one-dimensional; different clicks and drags will result in slightly different squeaks. But it earns well its motto, “Wow, that’s annoying!” You will quickly want to turn it off by running the app again. Also useful as a practical joke for a friend or loved one.

Next:

The MegaMan Effect. While this is running, any time you open an app, it will open with the same kind of screen splash and fanfare you would expect from a late 1980’s video game. It also gets annoying soon, unless you really love those old games–but even then, you could tire of it pretty easily.

And last:

The coolest one, one that you might enjoy or hate but have to admit it’s pretty damned clever: MacSaber. Many Mac laptops have a motion sensor intended to warn the computer that it’s dropping to the floor, so the hard disk can be stopped before it gets destroyed by the impact. Several people have used this sensor to employ various effects, like slapping the side of the monitor to change from one app’s window to another’s. But MacSaber does something far less useful.

When you turn it on, there is the sound of a Star Wars lightsaber igniting, and then the familiar hum of one operating. You know that special lightsaber motion noise? When the swing or tilt a lightsaber in the movies, it makes that sound–so iconic and irresistible that the actors in the Star Wars movies would often make the sounds themselves as they were swinging the sabers around. That’s the noise MacSaber makes when the motion detector senses movement.

Here comes the stupid part: you pick up your Mac and start swinging it around. It makes just about the most unwieldy and awkward imitation of a lightsaber that you can imagine… and it’s hilarious as hell. Again, a matter of taste.