Looking for a screensaver or screen blanker that does not totally stop sending signal

[1fallen2]

Well this thread looks fun, but as others have already mentioned, Wayland does not support screensavers or screen blankers in the same way that X11 does. The xscreensaver package, which is designed for X11, does not work natively with Wayland.


Wayland “does not have any provision that allows screen savers to even exist in any meaningful way.” This suggests that the architecture of Wayland does not provide the necessary hooks or APIs for screensavers to function. (Yet!)
I see TheFu already posted the Link.


I can't see why your short with folks trying to help you.... It is what it is.

EDIT: the best I can do on Wayland is to use [Super+L] to lock screen it works on Plasma tested, I'm no Gnome user so you will have to confirm that.
Or just a blank black screen:

gnome-screensaver-command --lock

Providing that "xscreensaver" is installed.

[bullwinkle2]

Well this thread looks fun, but as others have already mentioned, Wayland does not support screensavers or screen blankers in the same way that X11 does. The xscreensaver package, which is designed for X11, does not work natively with Wayland.

Part of why I am a little bent out of shape about this is that everyone seems to think that this is just normal. It's like the dog in the "this is fine" meme, except the flame around him are the flaming file of rubbish that is Wayland. Okay, that may be a little unfair, I know that there are good reasons to move away from X but dammit, Wayland isn't ready yet! And I am partly kicking myself for installing Ubuntu 24.04 but I really did not realize how poor the combination of Gnome+Wayland is. I do appreciate that people have enlightened me on this but there are so many distros to choose from and people still say Ubuntu is one of the best for new users (which in a way I am, because I have never attempted to use Linux on my primary desktop system before). And I think that was probably absolutely true when 18.04 or 20.04 was the current Ubuntu version, but all I can say is if I had known about some of the little details that make 24.04 such a pain in the posterior I would have run away!

Wayland “does not have any provision that allows screen savers to even exist in any meaningful way.” This suggests that the architecture of Wayland does not provide the necessary hooks or APIs for screensavers to function. (Yet!)
I see TheFu already posted the Link.

Right, and again to me that should have been a good indication that Wayland isn't ready yet. It's one of those situations where some folks would never have a problem because they don't feel the need to run anything that isn't working with Wayland, but I have to tell you, this is about the fifth thing I have run into that makes my think Wayland sucks in about the space of two weeks (prior to which I barely understood what the difference was between X and Wayland, or why it would matter which was used). And why Ubuntu folks just go "this is fine" is what I don't get. Is everyone too afraid to say that there are things about Linux that suck compared to MacOS or even maybe Windows? I mean just the simple act of copying and pasting text is such a hit-or-miss proposition it makes me want to scream sometimes.

I can't see why your short with folks trying to help you.... It is what it is.

And that's EXACTLY why I'm that way. That attitude, right there. The acceptance of rubbish. It just belies everything I have ever heard about how great Linux is!

I have a feeling if this problem were entirely confined to some other distro, Ubuntu users would be much more inclined to see how bad it is that you can't do simple ordinary things because "the Gnome developers..." or "Wayland doesn't yet..." (despite the fact that Wayland has been around for how long now?). But to me this is exactly why people will turn away from Ubuntu, maybe not today or tomorrow, but soon. Honestly, I had held off on switching for as long as I could because the way all the YouTubers were talking, the Cosmic desktop was going to be the next big thing. But it is like everything else, it takes time, and I did not want to mess with alpha software. But they have been making progress, I just wonder if they will have the same issues with Wayland as Gnome does. I never understood why some of the YouTube Linux channels had so much hate for Gnome, but I am starting to see understand now. Last time I updated my media center I put Debian and XFCE on it and in some respects that's working a whole lot better than my desktop system, but then again, that's still running X!

EDIT: the best I can do on Wayland is to use [Super+L] to lock screen it works on Plasma tested, I'm no Gnome user so you will have to confirm that.

Again, the issue with a lock screen (besides the fact that locking the screen is something I specifically wanted to avoid) is that it stops sending any signal at all to the monitor. And then I get this bright blue box traveling around the screen complaining of no HDMI signal.

Or just a blank black screen:

gnome-screensaver-command --lock

Providing that "xscreensaver" is installed.

Really I am realizing that I didn't ask the right question. The question I SHOULD have asked is, how can I display a full screen image (such as a 1920x1080 .png or ,jpeg) static image on the screen just by launching a script or program, that will work in Wayland. I cannot believe that is totally impossible. Maybe some people would use that to display a picture of their family, or a relaxing beach scene, or a mountain lake, or the night sky. Me, I would just display a totally black or a dark gray image. I have no problem with triggering it manually, but it MUST send some signal to the monitor so I don't get the damn blue box. This thread has been helpful in that regard, I have learned that there is a negative connotation to the word "screensaver" for some unfathomable reason, so I am NOT asking for a screensaver anymore!

[bobunderwood99]

You could use Image Viewer (eog) or Mirage to display a black image file fullscreen.

[tea for one]

Have you considered Xubuntu 24.04?
It includes xfce4-screensaver 4.18.3-1build1

[lucant]

I'm sorry, but that's your problem. Everyone who uses Gnome knows that it has a lock screen... In case the machine is inactive for a while.
If this bothers you so much, instead of complaining about things we can't help you with, download another DE... Mate or Xfce, they have the screensaver you want. You just need to download it and select it at startup.

[grahammechanical]

I think that you are making an assumption. Many of those who post help on this forum do not use Ubuntu + Gnome. Some don't even use Ubuntu. Yet they are experts on Linux or on uses of Linux other than as a desktop OS. This is fine. It is freedom of choice. It does not mean that they accept things without complaining or wanting change.

Me? I gave up messing with the user interface years ago. I accept whatever Ubuntu + Gnome gives. I get on with my computer using life. One of the good things about Linux is user choice. If things are not the way we like it, then we are free to change it. One of the bad things about Linux is User choice. People are never satisfied with what they are given. I can understand developers having a "this is the way our software project works and looks. We like it. If you don't like it, then too bad."

Regards

[bullwinkle2]

You could use Image Viewer (eog) or Mirage to display a black image file fullscreen.

THANK YOU! Image Viewer does exactly what I want, it took me about 30 seconds to make a solid black image using GIMP and I can just display that full screen.

Sorry if I did not make myself clear to begin with but that is really all I wanted. I sure didn't need a whole page on how the Gnome developers don't like screensavers, although it was educational, and something I will keep in mind when next picking a distro/desktop. But since I JUST finished setting up Ubuntu and I no longer have another computer to fall back on (other than my home theater PC), changing distros just to get a couple of features seems a bad tradeoff at this point, though if Pop_OS and Cosmic turn out to be as good as they are hoping for I may well revisit my decision when they come out of alpha/beta.

I still feel like the shift to Wayland should have been put off until maybe 26.04 because right now it is hurting Ubuntu's reputation as a user friendly distro, as least for those who want to use their computers for something other than simply reading their email and viewing web pages. But that is just my opinion; others are of course free to disagree. Anyway thanks for helping me find a solution.

[1fallen2]

And that's EXACTLY why I'm that way. That attitude, right there. The acceptance of shittiness. It just belies everything I have ever heard about how great Linux is!

I wish you well....

[bullwinkle2]

I think that you are making an assumption. Many of those who post help on this forum do not use Ubuntu + Gnome. Some don't even use Ubuntu. Yet they are experts on Linux or on uses of Linux other than as a desktop OS. This is fine. It is freedom of choice. It does not mean that they accept things without complaining or wanting change.

If you don't even use Ubuntu WHY would you be hanging out in a Ubuntu forum? Yes, I did assume that those in a UBUNTU forum would be using UBUNTU!

[1fallen2]

Because we like to help others, plain and simple right?