A program originally intended to prevent burning a fixed image into your CRT
monitor. Monochrome CRTs were prone to burnout where the most commonly displayed
image faded the screen phosphors. Colour screens are less susceptible.
Screensavers are artistic creations that kick in after a period of inactivity to
generate a moving display, thus evenly exercising the screen phosphors. They
have the secondary function of hiding your screen contents when you are away
from your desk. The downside is such programs can take up considerable RAM and
CPU and thus interfere with programs running in the background.
Screensavers often come as *.scr files. Virus and
trojan writers favour them since people are generally aware they are just as
dangerous as *.exe files. You can always uninstall
simply by deleting the corresponding *.scr file.
You can write platform-independent screensavers in Java using JDIC.
I tried
ScreenSavePlanet.com.
It seems to be a collection site for screensavers written by many different
companies. It did not have any annoying adware, though there were some
screensavers in both free and pay versions. The animated waterfalls is
intriquing. That is what I am using personally. There is also a talking fish
screensaver, though it was incompatible with my screen driver. Some are very
elaborate where you get to move the scenery, add fog and other effects.
Beware of
screensaver.com.
To use the screensavers, you must sign up for ad spam and install adware on your
machine. The screensavers are
not free in the usual meaning of the word,
as claimed. You must agree to sign up for spam. You don’t find this out
until after the screensaver is installed. The uninstall does not work.
Beware of
screensaverS.com.
They install a toolbar in Internet Explorer without your permission. They also
have some “free” screensavers that are not free, but they don’t
tell you up front. If they start asking for your name and email address, it won’t
be free.
by Roedy Green ©1996-2008 Canadian Mind Products
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