I used to use screensavers, just because I enjoyed looking at them, but found they sometimes interfered with games and such, so stopped using them.

Sue

scubaguy - Thanks for the link, those are some nice screensavers. With the weather getting nicer, I have turned off my fireplace screensaver for a while. It is supposed to get to 50°F (10°C) this weekend, we haven't seen that since October! I will keep my eyes open and wait to see if those screensavers come up as a giveaway of the day. :)

Hello all,
I also use them more for the break and entertainment value than anything. I have heard arguments for both sides (need or not), but I have several people that I trust (very into the computer field; either as a hobby or career) that have given me a VERY understandable argument in the 'for' category. I will tell you what I have been told and you make your own judgment on it.

Per them: On the older monitors (CRT, etc) it was needed so as not to burn out the monitor. Yet, we have all seen more recent monitors that have a pixel or section of pixels burnt out. So that would give a good argument that it might still be needed to help extend the life of your monitor. Granted; I have condensed that down from all the technical stuff they said too, but that is the jest of it.

On another note in this area: I am not sure how many of you remember a very popular screensaver suite that was available in the past (I believe it started in the Windows 95 time). It was called After Dark (and then there was After Dark Deluxe, and After Dark Suite) by Berkley. They were a series of fun screensavers that were more for the adult. E.I. toasters raining down, raining cows that exploded on impact, and (my fav) was called Bad Dog. Bad Dog was a dog that chewed up your icons and desktop, but when you hit a key it would come back with everything ok. I believe there was even a setting that made the dog occasionally come out and bark at you or do his business on your desk top. Anyways, I missed it so bad that I searched and bought an old copy hoping to find a way to make it work on a more current system. There are several articles that claim they have had success in getting it to work.

I happened recently on finding two sites that say they have updated versions that work. I have NOT had a chance to install and try them; so dont know if all of them are there still, but thought I would post them here for you if you want:

...deleted - malicious contend...

Best wishes and hope that they offer you all a laugh!
ibwebb

Hi Scubaguy,

Hows things....... Hope all is okay?

HOSS
If you like fireplace screensavers you may want to try the ones at this link.

http://www.3planesoft.com/fireplace-screensavers/crystal-fireplace-3d-screensaver/

The screensavers are not free, the cost of the fireplace savers are $17.95,but if you enjoy it, you may be willing to support the vender and purchase it. Or wait and see if it may be offered here in the future.
I have The Lost Watch saver, which was given away on 11/16/08 by GOTD.

Hope this helps.

I think screensaver is a good thing to relax while I have a break at the PC..
so better to look at smth good on the monitor than just black screen.
Black square box makes me depressed..

Screen savers now are more about relaxing than power saving..

don't you think?

to rezidue:
I am using TFT.
But does it mean that screensavers are useless?
I still see a lot of screensavers in the internet...

to Lee:
why do you think screen savers are needed for any monitor?
any article to read?

It's a myth that we don't need screen savers.

Screen savers keep even the latest screens from burning out.

Kid's like so fit Vista screensavers on XP most free one's come with spyware so check fist like with a good scan,try http://www.virustotal.com

I still use screensavers for the same reason HOSS does. I'll often have upwards of three on at any one time so it's nice to glance upwards from whatever I'm doing to watch some of the animations or marvel at the 3D fish screensaver I have (or the mechanical clocks intricasies) I have several favorites that I rotate which include the fish screensaver Aquazone 2 with expansion packs (amazing 3D environment with a wide variety of fish and other sea life, plus several different environments), G-Force a great psychedelic screensaver that doubles as a visualizations animation for my media player, then theres the sea storm, dark castle, mechanical clock and some others.

I realize that they aren't needed anymore, but I'll continue to use them.

It's a shame the giveaway team have stopped giving them away. We used to get one every 2 or three weeks throughout the giveaway projects life, until now. We haven''t had one since early January. :(

regards

WR

Hi Eugene3d,

If you're still using a CRT (cathode-ray tube) monitor, it's still a good idea to use a screen-saver or set it to blank (go black) after a predefined time when not sitting at your PC to help prevent phosphor burn-in. If you're using a LCD then a screen-saver shouldn't matter BUT it's a good idea to have the monitor power off to save your back lighting from dimming/dying from unnecessary overuse.

Hope that helps - Damian.

Most computers don't need them anymore as the monitors now days are much improved over the years. I still like a good screensaver just for the view. I have a favorite right now from Duraflame fireplace logs. It (of course) is a fire in a fireplace complete with sound. I grew up with a fireplace in the house so it reminds me of home. The only thing I don't like about it is that it uses a lot of system resources to run it while there is no one in the room. That is the 'knock' on screensavers now days, they use to much energy for what they are good for so most people call them a waste.

Do we need screensavers now or they are dead?
Anybody uses screensavers?

I know we can use slide shows of photos (from picasa, flickr, etc) on the desktop.
But looking slide shows becomes boring after several months of usage..

i want something cooler.

any idea?