Giveaway of the Day Forums » Software Talks

1. JoanRC
   Member

   This collection of stunning fractals are available in a number of versions for different OSs and older computers. Additionally, they all are highly configurable; so, for instance, you could adjust the framerate to slow a screensaver down for an older graphics card; or you could increase or decrease the number and speed of the objects onscreen.

   The author does not state what he means by "older computers" -- I take it the newest versions would not run too good on my old 386 with 1 mg RAM and a 16 hz processor.

   They do require the OpenAL runtime environment, which is included in the zip file. This is an older version that will not run the Skyrocket screensaver. A link to the OpenAL website is available on the mainpage. This is not an upgrade scam: OpenAL is open source and therefore totally free forever.

   The OpenAL is so Vista compatible that when an updated version came available, Vista (Home Premium 32 bit) let me know that solutions are available for my problem with the Skyrocket screensaver. (Vista has a long memory. I tried that screensaver months ago and forgot about it.)

   Installation is a matter of unzipping the compressed files and letting Windows know where they are. The author suggest putting them in the directory where Windows stores its screensavers but I do not know where that is in Vista. I placed them in my videos directory, then opened Windows' screesaver loader via the desktop and browsed over to my videos directory and ran each screensaver individually so as to let Windows add them to its list of available screensavers. To uninstall, just delete the individual screensavers.

   The author does mention some problems with Intel processors. I have always used AMD. I have not as yet downloaded the new AL to run Skyrocket, but all the other screensavers produce stunning graphics effects on my HP Slimline with dual core AMD 3800 and 1 gig of RAM.

   Posted 10 months ago #

2. goodgotd
   Member

   uhh... where?

   Posted 10 months ago #

3. scubaguy
   Member

   @ JoanRC
   I think you forgot to post the link,judging by your description of the screen savers and the one called Skyrocket,this may be the site your referring to.

   http://www.reallyslick.com/

   Posted 10 months ago #

4. goodgotd
   Member

   what's OpenAL, then?

   Posted 10 months ago #

5. scubaguy
   Member

   Took this from the site,I think this is what JoanRC is talking about.

   "OpenGL is used for the graphics and OpenAL is used for the sound."

   Posted 10 months ago #

6. graylox
   Member

   hi, fractalisters, remember RM's older topic :

   http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/2089?replies=15#post-12784

   Posted 10 months ago #

7. JoanRC
   Member

   Oh, sometimes i'm not near as smart as I look! I did indeed forget to add the link and then I wandered off and got lost in Wikipedia's list of freeware games and totally forgot about you people.

   Scubaguy found the correct link.

   This wasn't included in RM's list of fractal sites.

   Posted 10 months ago #

8. goodgotd
   Member

   missed that sound part, oops.

   Posted 10 months ago #

9. Whiterabbit-uk
   Games Guru

   I was browsing through the forums the other day and though I'd bring this old thread back to the front page as I know there are a few regulars that enjoy the odd screensaver or two. I also realise there's a lot of derision regarding screensavers; hot debates often break out when a screensaver is given away; about their usefulness, and basically a whole shed-load of apathy comes to the fore when a screensaver is mentioned or given away. Apart from the very first ones, they rarely ever get into the 30% thumbs up category, which I think is a great shame because for those who for whatever reason find themselves prisoners of the computer monitor; screensavers are actually a great way to meditate and enjoy the scenery. I for one am quite willing to pay for the better ones such as Aquazone, the Solar System series and G-Force; (though the latter is more a visualization package for media players, only the platinum edition has a screensaver included, which if your into anything psychedelic you’ll love).

   Elefun used to give away a screensaver or animated wallpaper every day until the summer of last year. I was one of the lucky ones who managed to collect most of them before they stopped the practice. Now I’ve just discovered that they have a page dedicated to free screensavers. All of them have great photographic backgrounds; though compared to screensaver developers such as Terminal Studios, 3DPlanesoft and Astro-Gemini, they are fairly static. Still, the six below that are being given away free are actually quite good looking, and wouldn’t look out of place on any computer desktop. They even do these as animated wallpapers, (which aren't free) but if you play a lot of games like me, then the animated wallpapers are a no-go because they always cause games to crash. If you’re a screensaver fan like me, I’d pop over there and download them all now because I don’t know whether it’s a permanent or temporary offer? Also whether they change them periodically? If they do, you can be sure that I’ll let you know. :) The site is marked as safe with the Web of Trust (WOT) rating.

   My daughter loves the swamp screensaver because of the frogs and the dragon flies. The backgrounds as already said are stationary, but there are some subtle movements in the water that add to the effect. Personally I like the big mountain valley and the Great Lake screensavers, though the watermill appears to have the most obvious animation. There isn’t much in the way of configurability, but you can change the way the screensaver is closed, for example on mouse movement, mouse click or the Esc key.

   Ancient Temple Ruins: (4.4Mb)

   http://www.elefun-screensavers.com/html/products/ancient-temple-ruins-screensavers.html#

   Big Mountain Valley|: (8.34Mb)

   http://www.elefun-screensavers.com/html/products/big-mountain-valley-screensaver.html

   Garden: (5.63Mb)

   http://www.elefun-screensavers.com/html/products/garden-screensaver.html

   Swamp: (4.3Mb)

   http://www.elefun-screensavers.com/html/products/swamp-screensaver.html

   Watermill by Waterfall: (4.3Mb)

   http://www.elefun-screensavers.com/html/products/watermill-by-waterfall-screensaver.html

   The Great Lake: (6.4Mb)

   http://www.elefun-screensavers.com/html/products/the-great-lake-screensaver.html

   p.s.

   I scanned all six for malware using PCGuard and F-Secure and all were passed as clean

   Posted 1 month ago # | Login to Send PM

10. Whiterabbit-uk
    Games Guru

    Here's a couple of Autumn/Fall Screensavers (that I found via my CNet newsletter)that you can download free; though you do need to register first. (If you're worried about giving up your Email give a disposable one):

    Portraits of Autumn:

    http://www.americangreetings.com/downloads/display.pd?prodnum=3125138

    Fall in the Country:

    http://www.americangreetings.com/screensavers/display.pd?N=374231%20374645&prodnum=3113669&uut_event=reg_end&app=DOWNLOADS

    Posted 1 month ago # | Login to Send PM

11. dimond345
    Member

    Hello.
    I'm the CEO of Funtezo. And the co-owner of EleFun Desktops. Whiterabbit-uk in previous post says that EleFun Desktops have developed new site with free animated screensavers and was worry is it temporary or not.
    It's not EleFun Desktops, it's new company and branch of EleFun Multimedia named Funtezo. It's not temporary action, also we have developed http://www.elefun-wallpapers.com site with 9 free animated wallpapers. All our products are tested by Symantec Antivirus on our computers, afte this we test them by Dr.Web antivirus on our server. This 2 site's was developed to test is it good for us to create freeware brunch.
    Right now Funtezo developing new site (funtezo.com) there in future you will be able to find free animated wallpapers, free animated screensavers, free games developed by EleFun Games and different online games, and many other free staff by different developers and publishers. They all will be free from spy ware, adware or any other viruses and trojan horses.
    It hard to develop it in 1-2 days cause I did not want to create one more site with lot of stuff there our costomers must to spent a lot of time to find that they want.

    Thanks for you opinion and interest to our products.
    Best regards
    Shubeikin Dmitriy

    Posted 1 month ago #

12. Whiterabbit-uk
    Games Guru

    The Webmaster posted the following over in another thread:

    Lantern:
    Soft light of the lantern returns you back to the good old days of childhood, when you went fishing and camping
    A rather odd screensaver, but hey, it's free!
    Link:
    http://www.3planesoft.com/fantasy-screensavers/lantern-3d-screensaver/

    The One Ring:
    This freeware screensaver has been specially created for all the fans of The Lord of the Rings and J.R.R. Tolkien. If you liked the book or the movie, this screensaver will make a great addition to your collection.

    Link:
    http://www.3planesoft.com/fantasy-screensavers/the-one-ring-3d-screensaver/

    Posted 2 weeks ago # | Login to Send PM

13. Whiterabbit-uk
    Games Guru

    Here's a free one called Flight over the Sea from Terminal Studios. I'm sure there's another one amongst the list they have, but they don't make it obvious which are free:

    Flight over the Sea:

    http://www.terminalstudio.com/sea-flight-3d.shtml

    and the same from Rixane:

    http://www.rixane.com/flight-over-sea/flight-over-sea.html

    Also from Rixane you can download a few other full version screensavers for free. Two from the 3D Solar System screensavers series Neptune and Uranus as well as Amazing Bubbles (also free elsewhere:

    Neptune:

    http://www.rixane.com/solar-system-neptune-free-screensavers.html

    Uranus:

    http://www.rixane.com/solar-system-uranus-free-screensavers.html

    Amazing Bubbles:

    http://www.rixane.com/amazing-bubbles-3d-screensaver.html

    Regards

    Whiterabbit

    Posted 2 weeks ago # | Login to Send PM

14. thewebmaster
    English Mod

    Screen-savers are triiicky things. Get a wrong one, and pop! your computer either is gone, or you have to take it to a repair shop, which is always fun.:)

    Also, you lose cool giveaways.

    So that is why I only get screen-savers from trusted sources. I consider 3Planesoft to be trustful. There are others that are free too, but good ones are hard to find. What is the use of a screen-saver?

    Well, back in the days of big computer screens, (which I'm sure many people still have), if the computer showed one thing for too long, it would get imprinted onto the screen, as a faint, but obvious picture of what was there.
    Now with flat screens that is no longer an issue, but I guess people started liking screen savers, so they continued to make 'em. Besides that, the only reason for a screen-saver is to eat candy with your eyes. Entertain yourself. It really should be called a computer game, but people insist that it saves the screen.LOL.

    Regards,
    -Webmaster

    Posted 2 weeks ago # | Login to Send PM

15. Whiterabbit-uk
    Games Guru

    Hi Webmaster. You'll find both Terminal Studios and Rixane are similar to 3Planesoft. They all share the same screensavers. We've had screensavers from all three plus Astro Gemini, who are the only ones that don't have a green WOT rating.

    I use them for eye candy. I often have more than one screensaver on at any one time and I find it pleasant to occassionaly stare at the screensaver. My favorite is one called Aquazone 2, a brilliant 3D fish screensaver, plusd another one that is primarily a visualization software for media players called G-Force. It acts as a ever changing psychedelic screensaver that is very configuarble with the console that open up with the program.

    Aquazone 2:

    http://www.smithmicro.com/default.tpl?group=product_full&sku=AQZOWCD

    G-Force:

    http://www.soundspectrum.com/g-force/

    Both sites are Green by WOT. I've visited both site many times and never had any alerts from my AV software

    Posted 2 weeks ago # | Login to Send PM

16. thewebmaster
    English Mod

    Thanks Whitrabbit. A real treasure trove.

    Posted 2 weeks ago # | Login to Send PM

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