Am I the only one who misses screen savers?

[ki4jgt]

I miss screensavers so bad that I'm actually watching a video I created over and over again in full screen mode. :(

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/23080006/TB0001-0280.ogg

Any way to bring back screensavers or perhaps set this as one?

[zombifier25]

Yep, you are the only one :D . I'm rocking with xscreensaver

[thatguruguy]

Yep, you are the only one :D . I'm rocking with xscreensaver

This. I run electricsheep, using xscreensaver.

[Grenage]

I never really saw the point of them, at least once TFTs and decent power control became common-place.

[whatthefunk]

I dont miss them at all. Why waste energy to display something that nobody is watching?

[TheFu]

Most of my Linux machines don't have monitors attached. No point in a screen saver. Even when I'm not sitting behind the desktop PC, it is usually busy doing something useful, so anything that takes processor or RAM away is undesirable. Telling the screen to save power is preferred.

I do watch videos or recorded TV on a 3rd monitor while I'm working, but nothing too interesting. It needs to be mindless or I can't concentrate.

[ojdon]

Closing the lid of a laptop or turning off the monitor and putting a desktop to sleep will do the job of saving energy these days and will also be available in a matter of seconds when the machine needs to be resumed.

[zombifier25]

I dont miss them at all. Why waste energy to display something that nobody is watching?

Some people (like me) simply wanted to have their computer look cool. Also, they make cool desktop backgrounds.

(except for laptops though. My current computer is a IBM ThinkPad and screensavers can stay the heck away from it)

[ki4jgt]

I dont miss them at all. Why waste energy to display something that nobody is watching?

Because I love to render files in Blender for long periods of time (often hours) which means I can't shut my laptop :). I have this weird urge to see my screen actually working when my computer is open for some reason :D. It looks so empty when it's open and the screen's off. :(

[Lux Perpetua]

I specifically miss the old 16-bit "After Dark" screen savers from the mid-1990s (think Windows 95). Nirvana, Frost and Fire, Satori, Mountains, Penrose....

[robtygart]

Kubuntu still has them. I use the Clock Screen saver, right now I don't use anything my monitor goes off.

[wyliecoyoteuk]

We have an Atom miniITX PC in the kitchen, wall mounted screen, when not in use for other things, it displays a slideshow of family photos using Xscreensaver. Effectively functioning as a digital photo frame.

[mr john]

Good screensaver in office = Good advertisement for Ubuntu

For me, installing xscreensaver was alot of work and required using a tutorial. If a software engineer needs to use a tutorial just to activate a screensaver then something is really wrong. It should be alot more simple than that. I understand that they are trying to save space on the cd by not including screensavers out of the box.

This whole issue could be overcome by having a screensaver section in the Ubuntu App Store.

[Jakin]

Kubuntu has some nice ones built in (i really like the plasma/flurry one in the default package, back on 11.10) im afraid i have little use for them other than something nice to toy around with. Just as soon set power management to power down the screen.

[ki4jgt]

Good screensaver in office = Good advertisement for Ubuntu

For me, installing xscreensaver was alot of work and required using a tutorial. If a software engineer needs to use a tutorial just to activate a screensaver then something is really wrong. It should be alot more simple than that. I understand that they are trying to save space on the cd by not including screensavers out of the box.

This whole issue could be overcome by having a screensaver section in the Ubuntu App Store.

Not only that, but users could submit more screensavers using a dedicated screensaver scripting language. We could call it USSL (Ubuntu Screensaver Scripting Language). It could load media (videos, images, audio) into memory, to play over and over or it could draw graphics onto the screen. It could access system and online resources to allow users to customize the Screensavers. :) :) :) That would be great to include in the next release of Ubuntu. Especially if the rumors are true about them moving away from the one CD goal and onto a DVD.

[CharlesA]

I specifically miss the old 16-bit "After Dark" screen savers from the mid-1990s (think Windows 95). Nirvana, Frost and Fire, Satori, Mountains, Penrose....
Lawnmower man and flying toasters...

I don't run any screensavers anymore, I just have the monitor go to sleep after like 10 minutes.

[mips]

For me, installing xscreensaver was alot of work and required using a tutorial. If a software engineer needs to use a tutorial just to activate a screensaver then something is really wrong. It should be alot more simple than that. I understand that they are trying to save space on the cd by not including screensavers out of the box.


You can blame Gnome3/Unity for that. On other desktop environments it's as simple as installing any other package from the repos.

[Dragonbite]

I like having a screensaver on my laptop and it cycles through photos in my pictures directories.

[Megaptera]

I like having a screensaver on my laptop and it cycles through photos in my pictures directories.

Me too - laptop on I get called away to wash the toast or something by Mrs.Megaptera ... xscreensaver finds my photos ... when I get back to the laptop I have a surprise waiting behind the picture!! Oh ... that's what I was doing! :lolflag:

[spaceshipguy]

My Mac has a nice screen saver as default, with random photos zooming tastefully about.

I could imagine a scenario where that might not be desirable in the office though.

[Dragonbite]

My Mac has a nice screen saver as default, with random photos zooming tastefully about.

I could imagine a scenario where that might not be desirable in the office though.

At work I don't use a screensaver. I just lock the screen and it shows my desktop wallpaper without the icons, panels, etc.

[Lightstar]

I used a screensaver on my windows 3.1
After that I decided to go green and make the monitor turn off after X minutes. Never used a screensaver since.

Beside the DVD player when it's on pause too long... screensaver turns on.

[Carl.Spackler]

I dont miss them at all. Why waste energy to display something that nobody is watching?

This ^^^ :lolflag:

[Linuxratty]

I have the rotating backgrounds now,so not a lot..Sometimes i miss my favorites,which were an always changing steampunk box and also various bsod's,which actually fooled a friend once.

[Dragonbite]

I have the rotating backgrounds now,so not a lot..Sometimes i miss my favorites,which were an always changing steampunk box and also various bsod's,which actually fooled a friend once.
I like that, with a BSOD as one wallpaper:lolflag: I have rotating wallpapers but they are from images I get online while my screensaver is of family and activities.

Caffeine (I think it is called) is supposed to make it easy to suspend screensavers such as when watching a movie or something.

[fatality_uk]

I have a Volvo S60 and the info-centre has a screensaver function!! :)

[Dragonbite]

I have a Volvo S60 and the info-centre has a screensaver function!! :)

Bet it doesn't show (non-Volvo) exotic cars! :lolflag:

[cracker89]

I dont miss them at all. Why waste energy to display something that nobody is watching?

Unless u sit and watch them. But I hear you brother! ):P

[vexorian]

I never actually understood the concept of a "screen saver". How is that supposed to protect the screen?

They were cool, but overrated, the main feature was always locking the computer. And that's why locking became the only feature we inherited from those old times.

[Grenage]

I never actually understood the concept of a "screen saver". How is that supposed to protect the screen?

Back in the day, you could get screen burn on CRTs. Static images would literally imprint themselves upon the screen. Screensavers helped stop that happening, by keeping something moving across the image.

[vexorian]

Wouln't it have been better to shut the screen off?

[ki4jgt]

Back in the day, you could get screen burn on CRTs. Static images would literally imprint themselves upon the screen. Screensavers helped stop that happening, by keeping something moving across the image.

expanding on this, my mother's old computer screen did this. Even after we installed Ubuntu, we could see the imprint of the windows start menu b/c the place she bought it from left it on without the screensaver :(

[Grenage]

Wouln't it have been better to shut the screen off?

Yes, although if distracted or forgetful.. it can easily happen. As I recall, it wasn't that common for monitors do have power control; you couldn't turn them off via software.


expanding on this, my mother's old computer screen did this. Even after we installed Ubuntu, we could see the imprint of the windows start menu b/c the place she bought it from left it on without the screensaver :(

Yup, sometimes you could salvage the display!

[kimberlite]

Wouln't it have been better to shut the screen off?
Sounds like a logical question. But to use a customized screensaver at that time (in the nineties) was fun and a kind of status symbol to express your creativity:wink).

[cracker89]

Sounds like a logical question. But to use a customized screensaver at that time (in the nineties) was fun and a kind of status symbol to express your creativity:wink).

:lolflag:

[BrianBlaze]

I use xscreensaver and love it at work because all my buddies at work think I am cool for having old school screen savers :)

[cracker89]

I use xscreensaver and love it at work because all my buddies at work think I am cool for having old school screen savers :)

i remember the haunted house and space satellite things rom win 98. they were top notch. *nostagia*

[houseworkshy]

There are still a few cathode ray tube monitors out there being used, for anyone who has one of those a screensaver is quite important because turning the monitor on and off isn't going to extend it's life, making it transmit pure black is a better option but a bit dull. I used to use a clock screensaver to shake me out of daydreaming when I had deadlines. There are rather a lot of interesting screensavers, some of the ones which are associated with shareing unused resources are well worth looking at. This I like http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/sah_graphics.php
I'd quite like to have something like stellarium kick in when a screensaver would have done just to help maintain context.
Currently I don't need or use one, however having something useful kick in when the computer is idle is still a good idea; interuptable scans, shared tasks and so on. Graphics to go with that might even be useful or just eyecandy, either way I hope the option to use a screensaver remains even if it isn't on the disk.
Part of focusing on innovating the new is bound to be depreciation of the old especially when size of storage medium is a factor, so it's swings and roundabouts. As a fortunate online person this is not a problem, gimp is one of the first things I install for example, though I'm aware that for many less fortunate what is on the disk is more critical. Internet cafes often charge for downloads and if the iso's and debs don't work there is no connection to easily sort things out at home online.
According to the old Ubuntu ethic screensavers would be on the disk as the people least likely to be online are most likely to be using a crt monitor.
That said the Ubuntu philosopy has changed; providing a free alternative operating system for those in the third world is no longer a key factor, now it's solidly aimed at the well to do who can afford to have recent hardware. So I suppose people using old hardware won't be able to run Ubuntu anyway, just think ram.
I miss the old Ubuntu ethic but the distribution did help to popularise the linux idea and lightweight distro's have come in to fill the gap. The new ethic is important too, innovation does matter and it is logical that one of, perhaps the, biggest development teams take on that role.
Ubuntu could easily be first to produce a working holographic display and should that happen expect flames about the decision to drop old physical screen features. A couple of decades after that those who flamed will probably be using the results of all that holographic development but leery of the brain induction UI.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

I didn't notice that screens savers were gone. Now that you mention it, I haven't seen one it quite a while.

[CharlesA]

I remember running Seti@Home on my old Compaq. It made an awesome screensaver tbh.

For anyone who wants to run Seti@Home on their Precise box, see here:
http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=67912&postid=1242388

[kow777]

There are still a few cathode ray tube monitors out there being used, for anyone who has one of those a screensaver is quite important because turning the monitor on and off isn't going to extend it's life, making it transmit pure black is a better option but a bit dull. I used to use a clock screensaver to shake me out of daydreaming when I had deadlines. There are rather a lot of interesting screensavers, some of the ones which are associated with shareing unused resources are well worth looking at. This I like http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/sah_graphics.php
I'd quite like to have something like stellarium kick in when a screensaver would have done just to help maintain context.
Currently I don't need or use one, however having something useful kick in when the computer is idle is still a good idea; interuptable scans, shared tasks and so on. Graphics to go with that might even be useful or just eyecandy, either way I hope the option to use a screensaver remains even if it isn't on the disk.
Part of focusing on innovating the new is bound to be depreciation of the old especially when size of storage medium is a factor, so it's swings and roundabouts. As a fortunate online person this is not a problem, gimp is one of the first things I install for example, though I'm aware that for many less fortunate what is on the disk is more critical. Internet cafes often charge for downloads and if the iso's and debs don't work there is no connection to easily sort things out at home online.
According to the old Ubuntu ethic screensavers would be on the disk as the people least likely to be online are most likely to be using a crt monitor.
That said the Ubuntu philosopy has changed; providing a free alternative operating system for those in the third world is no longer a key factor, now it's solidly aimed at the well to do who can afford to have recent hardware. So I suppose people using old hardware won't be able to run Ubuntu anyway, just think ram.
I miss the old Ubuntu ethic but the distribution did help to popularise the linux idea and lightweight distro's have come in to fill the gap. The new ethic is important too, innovation does matter and it is logical that one of, perhaps the, biggest development teams take on that role.
Ubuntu could easily be first to produce a working holographic display and should that happen expect flames about the decision to drop old physical screen features. A couple of decades after that those who flamed will probably be using the results of all that holographic development but leery of the brain induction UI.


I still feel that Ubuntu is a lightweight alternative to Windows, at least compared to Windows 7. I didn't realize how ram heavy 7 was until I switched back to Ubuntu.

[Grenage]

I still feel that Ubuntu is a lightweight alternative to Windows, at least compared to Windows 7. I didn't realize how ram heavy 7 was until I switched back to Ubuntu.

Maybe for you; my Windows 7 and Ubuntu installs use about the same, and Windows is nippier.

[CharlesA]

That is my experience as well, but my main box is running Win7. My older desktop box is running Fedora now, but it was running Ubuntu 12.04 previously.

[wyliecoyoteuk]

Problem with shutting the screen off is that some idiot will come along and switch the PC off at the plug, because they don't think it's on, and trash the OS.
(Yes, our company has one of these "switch it off at the wall" people. Unfortunately, he's the MD)

I remember a story about a branch visit from the IT director, who wandered through the IT dept, and saw that the servers were running 3D screensavers. (this was in the days when 3D screensavers actually used an appreciable portion of memory and CPU, and Windows servers often actually had displays).
He pointed out how much they were costing the company. Ouch.

[ki4jgt]

Problem with shutting the screen off is that some idiot will come along and switch the PC off at the plug, because they don't think it's on, and trash the OS.
(Yes, our company has one of these "switch it off at the wall" people. Unfortunately, he's the MD)

I remember a story about a branch visit from the IT director, who wandered through the IT dept, and saw that the servers were running 3D screensavers. (this was in the days when 3D screensavers actually used an appreciable portion of memory and CPU, and Windows servers often actually had displays).
He pointed out how much they were costing the company. Ouch.

I have a family member like that. No looking for a light, they simply assume that b/c a screen is off, the stack must be as well :(. Has resulted in MANY a loss document. . .

[vexorian]

I would then suspend the computer, unless the guy also unplugs computers.

[wyliecoyoteuk]

No, but he does switch them off at the socket.

[DarkAmbient]

I can't say I miss them, screensavers in Ubuntu was always buggy for me. Kicking in while I was watching something in fullscreen, be it flash in a browser or locally via totem, sometimes I was unable to go back to the desktop from the screensaver too. So thanks to bad experiences I haven't used any screensavers for the past 2-3 years now. But perhaps they have started to behave better since(?).

[Marzata]

By default there are around 200 screen savers in Xubuntu 12.04 LTS, http://goo.gl/OgGVP.

[danelwillis]

There is only one screen saver in KUbuntu and thats blank. lol. Miss the screen savers. Might get some now just to tell idiots that screen off doesn't mean computer off. Plus they looked cool.

[Artemis3]

I didn't notice that screens savers were gone. Now that you mention it, I haven't seen one it quite a while. They are only gone from Gnome3 and Unity uses gnome3...