This Mac performance tip is an easy one: Stay away from animated desktops, at least most of the time. Sure, animated desktops are fun; I even recommend a few for various holidays. But in general, if the desktop is moving around while you're trying to get real work done, it can be both distracting and a power drain.
Animated desktops work by stealing a few CPU cycles here and there, and using them to update the image used for the desktop. More often than not, this isn't a problem. If you're browsing the web, working with mail, or even writing in your favorite word processor, the CPU cycles are close to idle most of the time, so putting a few to use to update a desktop background isn't an issue. But when it comes time to get some CPU-intensive work done, stealing CPU cycles to update a desktop is, well, silly.
When you want to get some serious work done, make sure your desktop wallpaper is a static image. Pictures, or one of the many Apple-supplied desktops, are fine. And don't use the slideshow option.
