BTW/FYI:
all people that are looking to see if paid version or free:
if the register button cannot be chosen (is greyed out or light) then it is the paid version (i.e.,s it has been registered).

It worked last time, but now it won't run. Starts to, then stops before a picture ever shows. Tried 4-5 times. Un-installing. Win XP, SP2. I also very much dislike the toolbar & ads part, although this time I didn't see either. Yet. If uninstall doesn't remove all that, I am gonna be so mad. Thanks GOTD, & thanks Astro-Gemini for a try anyway. PLEASE consider taking toolbars & ads off any future things you put on GOTD. If the paid version has those, you can expect a lot of demands for & back! Was this a free version?? Cause a toolbar & ads usually mean that. Are we NOT actually reviewing the paid version?

I agree that there are other good free screen savers out there. I've gotten a few that were mentioned. This ones not bad, loaded easy,I unchecked Use Desktop Settings and changed it to 1024 x748. This way my Earth is round. I wish it had more adjustments, like clouds, etc.

Total and utter fail.

This thing appears to require that I *violate security* on my computer to run it. Specifically, it does not run on my XP Limited User account once it is installed. (Or perhaps it did not install to run on all users? Same difference.) Error messages are: "ARCH: Cannot load JPG file: textures\load.jpg" and "ARCH: Cannot load JPG file: textures\sign.jpg", followed by taking a drWatson dump.

This program is a crock.

lookin at the price,i thought it to be a great screen saver and i downloaded...but after seeing it looked just like some high school project as previously said by sean526...i'm also uninstalling it...must be a freeware

i told astro gemini the 3d earth turns wrong way years ago.

and for those who tried to do saver at other rez. there are so many choices because a set of rezs is maybe from 256 color ? (strange colors) to ??? colors (maybe something else here too) 1st in 16 bit then in 32 bit for each rez and you cant tell which is which because the rez window is too small to see the right hand of the rezs. too many to choose from. it is many different for each set of rez 16/32. i never could figure out what was what.

i prefer the FREE mother earth saver from howiesfunware.com - you can change music, earth can have clouds, no clouds, no water, and you can have mars with and without water. and the rez are single choice from a slider and choice of high or med rez graphics. AND sun rises in east (west to east movement).

You can however have space travel with the Starship Enterprise courtesy of the LCARS screen saver
http://www.mewho.com/system47/
which is the COOLEST screensaver out their...beam me up.

I love this screen saver. I haven't used one for years. I set it up this morning and just a while ago I came into my bedroom just as the earth was being back lit by the sun. It was beautiful. This is a real keeper.
Thank you
Lynne

Unfortunately the earth pictures are not that much of a thrill. In general, graphics need much improvement.

Used to love screensavers - kinda don't anymore - sad what you use to like - a way of the past....

I love screensavers, when they are quality, and this one is pretty good! Thankyou!

Is this like the free xearth?

for win: http://hewgill.com/xearth/

Here's a free one that also give y'all weather reports to boot...http://crawlerapps.com/install/sap_3d-earth-screensaver.aspx?tbid=60376&

Specs... *
Take a Journey into Space
See our planet just like astronauts do, watch the moon or visit the Space Station!
*
Zoom In and Rotate Around the Globe
Get free detailed maps and explore every part of our planet!
*
Check Weather Forecasts Around the World
Find weather updates anywhere in the world or track weather in your home location!

I have no use for screensavers usually, but this one does provide some nice views of earth. I wish it would be more like the Ubuntu screensaver which shows lots of different views of galaxies, stars, supernovas, etc. I uninstalled it after checking it out mostly because I'm low on disk space (installed too many other free apps from here ;-)

What? Space tourism? It exist in our world now? I'm confused...

#5,c9333103
I agree with you. You can just download one of those Google Earth Tours thing that automatically go to different parts of our world or like you said, in outer space!!! OOOHHHhhhHHHHhhhHHH! LoL.

The cool part is that both Google Earth and the "tour packages" that other Google Earth peeps made are all free! :D

~Joji~

I would not recommend this one. At least if graphics were good we can have this one but since the 3d model of earth in this screensaver sucks!

Great G.O.D. works great! Adjustable in settings. Fun to Watch.

Thank you very much GAOTD. team for a very nice screensaver. I have had this screensaver since it was given away the last time it was offered. Also thank you to the vendor that was nice enough to give this screensaver away for free today.
I see some things just never change here with all the belly aching over a simple little screensaver LMAO. Instead of just moving on, "NO" it's the same ole, same ole Lol. Go ahead and vote a negative vote for me please. Keep showing the world how childish some of yous really are. Grow up and get over yourselves already !
Happy Easter / passover.

The developer's website and their software is identified as ad/malware on Web of Trust and more

Installed and uninstalled within minutes. Not worth even $1.95 let alone $19.95.

Works fine. Maybe not the best screensaver I've ever seen, but hey, it's just a screensaver!

Well worth the few moments it took to install it.

Thanks, GoTD and Igor Elovikor (the programmer) and Terminal Studio.

I don't use screensavers personally but if I did I could only say: Come on folks, $20.00... Please. There are free screensavers all over the Web. I looked at real desktop globes and found some in this price range.

Boring and outdated. The textures are so blurry with today's graphic cards. Very ugly! Google Earth is better. I wished it could be used as a screen saver too.

Cool, but aspect ratio is wrong on my widescreen monitor, with no way in settings to change it.

This is terrible! Really, really junk software!

This is weak.

I thought it would provide an cool graphic of the earth, multiple shots, options, different views perhaps. Just something different as an option.

It's one lame, poorly animated shot of the earth that rotates 1-2 frames a second. Goofy music in the background (that you *have* to turn off right away).

"A fantastically realistic 3D model of the planet?" Uh ... no.

This software looks like some high school kid's project for an intro class. Uninstalling now.

I wouldn't pay 19.95 for this screen saver.

DITTO on iwontell's comments - nuff said.

The honeymoon with this program ended the moment I rebooted my PC.

The download and installation were fast and problem free. I read the comments posted here, used Web Of Trust to look at astro gemini's rating and decided to give this program a spin anyway. So, prior to installation the file was scanned with Avira, then MBAM, then SuperAntiSpyware and finally with IObit 360. No traces of malware or any type of "cooties" were found - even the EULA was a pleasant surprise :)

Once all the scans were completed, I set a system restore point and I recommend that others do the same! Once the screensaver was installed, I was presented with the preview. It really is a really nifty program and super fun to watch! I liked it a lot. So far, so good...

I rebooted my computer only to find a non-responsive keyboard and mouse. No way to do anything with my machine but use the power button to manually shut it down. Willing to give this program the benefit of a doubt, I tried restarting the 'puter with the same results - a frozen mouse and keyboard. Grrrrr! I was angry with myself for not heeding the warnings.

After the 2nd. hard boot I started up in "safe mode with command prompt". I typed in "rstrui.exe" and I was able to get my computer back to normal operation again - I'm so glad I set a restore point first! I consider this download a lesson learned as to why I should first try out these free programs in a sandbox environment and hopefully you will, too.

I liked the screen saver and while I appreciate the lack of spy-ware and all that, I don't like playing exterminator to flush out any and all bugs it seems to have.

In all honesty, I would only recommend this program to others if they used system restore before the installation AND they knew how to use the command prompt if their system locked up as mine did.

Vista Home Premium / SP-1 / 32 bit
Max. RAM with updated drivers, etc.
3rd party firewall
Tons of non-conflicting security programs

It really isn't flat?!

use celestia

Finally, screensavers from 3Plane Soft are back! Thanks, GOTD, and please keep them coming. The screensavers from this company are great. I understand that some people want just utilities and applications but it's good to have some diversity. There are those who will really appreciate today's offering.

Installed on Vista x64. When confirmed the "run now" option, and selected "preview" screen blacked out, and the system did not respond to any command.
Had to restart to get my system back..
Didn't give up, and re-installed. Didn't chose to "run now", and could not find the screen saver on the list with the other screen savers.
Uninstalled. Thanks.

You have to be easily impressed to to pay $20 for this. Music is cheap, clouds on the Earth whipping around, I don't think the scale is even correct. Space tourism is STILL only available to very rich people.

eh, expected a little more (or different) on Easter. Pass, and for @4, don't you remember "After Dark" screensavers? Boy, when I was young, we used to have to pay to watch toasters fly through space...

is it the same function as google earth?
i don't think it will make money unless the google disappears from earth

Very cheesy. The visuals are ok but relatively bland. The music however is total cheese...like something out of a bad 70s soundtrack. Uninstalled it within minutes of installation...not worth it even free.

To be fair, usually not one for ScreenSavers, I didn't find this one particularly impressive either. It takes the picture you see above rotates it and moves it around your screen, also showing some unidentifiable planet go by every now and then, (all the same) and the sun goes by. It moves the star-filled background around too, but there are large gaps in the star-field, and they are moving much faster than they should, which removes some of the potential realism.

Kudos for the planet artwork being nice enough, and time consuming to create, but overall its nothing to write home about. The developer might consider doing a lot more with it in future versions. I get the feeling this was the first version out of the box.

One thing to note in particular: It is a ScreenSaver, which means it is there primarily to protect your beam from burning the screen's internal phosphorus coating. Yet if you leave the time display enabled in the lower-right corner, it WILL burn your screen, because it is very stationary except for the seconds display changing. So if you use this, its very advisable to turn off the white time-display. They could easily fix that by moving the time display around from time to time.

For me, this is not a keeper. But with a lot more work, it could be a viable offering. As is, its just not very exciting..

-JC

It's pretty. It's a screen saver.

It doesn't seem to use too many resources.

It also provides a lot of amusement from the knee-jerk reactions and snobbish posturings of the self-styled l337 computer geeks brandishing this assault on their fine sensibilities and discernment like a cudgel in the hand of a toddler.

Give it a rest guys, we're not impressed.

What else would you expect from a screen saver?

What is "space music"?

Rating: * * (out of 5*)

Not sure why Astro Gemini persists in calling its wares "screensavers". As marketing strategies go, that's on a par with running a butcher's shop in a village of vegetarians.

CRT screens needed saving from phosphor burn-in; LCD's don't. What they actually need saving from is back-light dimming: powering 'em off when not needed extends their working life. And saves on electricity too.

So; Planet Earth 3D doesn't save anything. (And certainly not Planet Earth.) It's simply eye candy for anyone who might need a few minutes' break from working on the computer but doesn't want to quit their chair.

Download / install / activation: no problems.

In operation: Planet Earth may be in 3D but Astro Gemini's own world still seems pretty much far away and long ago. Yet again, its software seems tailored to the native resolution of obsolescent CRT monitors. The result here is that a slow fly-past of Earth on a wide-screen monitor is actually a circular tour of a large speckled egg.

Still. It is Easter.

Changing the software's settings (in my case, from my monitor's 1600x1050 to 1600x1200) makes the Earth look more like its usual self, albeit not one National Geographic would recognise: terrain rendering is disappointingly poor.

The 3D treatment lacks punch, too: Earth is set against back-dropped stars that look less like a glittering galaxy as a close-up shot of a black-top highway.

As with all eye candy though, system dependency is high. My PC is running Vista x32 with dual core processors, 4GB RAM and 500Mb video card. No doubt Planet Earth 3D will "play" better on a set-up of greater capability.

As usual, this eye candy is also ear candy. The music's definitely better than that on a Nintendo DS Lite game. But not so much better you'd want to keep listening.

Settings: Default settings are easily changed. Camera speed is way, way too fast; knocking it back to 10% makes sense. The sound can be disabled. The irritating on-screen clock can be turned off. As noted, the software's display resolution can be changed. And the option to exit on mouse click can be checked.

Summary: I don't run "screensavers" because they don't save anything. And whether or not they're free or paid-for, a computer and monitor in hibernation / standby is in a better and cheaper state than one powering a fly-past of aerial toasters or their latter-day equivalent.

But today's GOTD Planet Earth 3D has run on this computer and will likely run again. (The shortcut icon's in quick launch and the exit on mouse move checked.) I also have a quick cue to an MP3 track so it's my choice of music that plays.

Reason it's run here and will run again is because for a few minutes at least, it's a pleasant visual distraction / moving background, where even if the rendering fails to persuade (at least where my graphics engine is concerned) the lighting is actually very good and the sun's flare, pretty dazzling.

It's definitely not for purists who think anything less than NASA quality ain't worth having. But as a simple, and occasional, visual diversion, Planet Earth 3D is OK. And, today at least, free.

Thanks to GOTD and Astro Gemini.

Well - Sure beats hunting for Easter eggs. But only to see and erase to save HD space. It should have been offered on april 1st. I would understand it better then.

The World looks eggshaped on widescreen laptops. Is there anyway to change the settings?

I do not like it even if it is for free.

Who's ideas was it the planet should turn from east to west?

Boooo.

east or west it is the best

installs ok on xp sp3, but it also trys to install a toolbar add-on! Then without asking it does install a screensaver manager that shows more junk screensavers from them and advertising. a big thumbs down uninstalled in first 2 minutes.

@ patelbhai - Thank you for taking your time to make us such a guide. This was news to me and very usefull. Happy easter and passover from Denmark

Not suitable for high resolution wide screen monitors.
On mine, 1920x1080, the earth becomes an Egg...

The installation of this has changed but it's the same screensaver as before. No doubt we'll get all sorts of complaints from screensaver-haters, but I like this one. It's certainly not perfect, but it's entertaining, and as usual, you don't have to use screensavers as screensavers. Blanks secondary monitor, as it should. Best viewed under dark conditions, the starfield is good for a screensaver. As always, any performance issues are due to your video card and drivers; quick and smooth on mine.

Another utility with a screensaver, available in free and commercial versions (coming up on Bits du Jour), is the weather utility YoWindow. It uses Flash, and has clever Easter Eggs.

FYI: AnVir 6.3.1 has been released.

Not for my computer with 1GB RAM with 1440 screen resolution.
Too slow and image quality is too bad.