In the early days of personal computers,
if a certain image or string of text or numbers was constantly
displayed on a computer screen, that image could become permanently
burned into the screen, ruining the monitor. In response to this
danger, small programs called screen savers were developed to keep the
screen active by displaying moving text, graphics, and animation. Once
monitor technology improved, screen savers were no longer needed. As it
turned out, computer users were not willing to give up their dancing
toasters and bouncing balls. Not only did users like the color and
animation screen savers offered, but they also found that screen savers
were a fun way to infuse their computers with a little personality.
Windows computers have a variety of screen savers built into the
operating system. When you purchase a new computer, a screen saver is
probably pre-installed. To access and/or change the screen saver,
simply right-click on any blank area of the Windows desktop and choose
Properties from the menu that appears. Then click on the Screen Saver
tab.
If you have Internet access and want to have some fun with screen
savers, you are in luck. Just about every type of screen saver is
available on the Internet, and many of them are a free download away.
Go to any search engine like Google (www.google.com ) or Yahoo (www.yahoo.com)
and type in the words Screen Saver. You will be presented with a list
of Web sites that offer every type of screen saver from tasteless to
truly artistic. Mac users needn't be left out. There are plenty of
sites for you. Some, like Mac Screen Savers at www.macscreensavers.com , are exclusively for Mac users.
I recently tried an interesting Web site called Webshots at
www.webshots.com. No registration is required to download their small
program. Once that is accomplished, you can use any of their free 5,000
full color images for your Windows wallpaper (background) or screen
saver. Choices include animals, people, 3-D art, space, travel, and
much more. The software includes an automatic Web connection that
downloads new photos every day. You can also post your own photos on
the Webshots site and/or access more than four million photos posted by
other Webshots community members.
If you are the more serious type and would like a productive screen
saver, you might try a distributed processing program called the
SETI@Home experience. The University of California-Berkeley has
developed a screen saver that can be downloaded at http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/
. The SETI program uses the world's largest radio telescope to capture
data from outer space. Your screen saver will harness the spare power
of your computer (and millions of other computers) to process this data
and help in the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI). You
can actually view the screening of the data as it is processed in your
computer.
Several other distributed processing programs have been proposed and
are currently being implemented. Because these programs use the
processing power of idle home computers, they are ideally suited to be
developed as screen savers.
Whether you use your screen saver for fun or distributed processing,
I think you'll find the saga of the screen saver interesting. Rather
than becoming extinct when their original purpose was retired, screen
savers have moved on to serve new roles. Not many other products have
managed that challenge.
