Wallpaper styles are as changing and various as people themselves, using photographs, drawings, 3D renders or abstract pattern with complex gradients. It can be helpful to have plain areas so that icons can be clearly seen atop the wallpaper.
Most common categories can include cars, models and celebrities, scenery, pets, movies, family, and personal photos.
When using rack mounted computers through a switch, it can often be useful to make a wallpaper with the computer's name on it, to easily identify which computer the user is connecting to.
System themes are often distributed with a background image that fits the style of the theme.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Minimal Security
Screensaver software can also be used as a rudimentary security measure. Many screensavers can be configured to ask users for a password before permitting the user to resume work. However, a user might be able to circumvent the password by restarting the computer if the computer's owner has set their account to automatically log in.
Screensavers are not to be confused with power management features. In fact, some screensavers can actually waste power, because they can prevent the computer from entering the lower power (or sleep) state, and they often cause the CPU and GPU to perform more calculations, and keep the hard disk running for longer than if the computer were idle.
Screensavers are not to be confused with power management features. In fact, some screensavers can actually waste power, because they can prevent the computer from entering the lower power (or sleep) state, and they often cause the CPU and GPU to perform more calculations, and keep the hard disk running for longer than if the computer were idle.
Monitors Running with Savers
Monitors that are running free screensavers consume the same amount of power as when running normally, which can be anywhere from a few watts for small LCD monitors to several hundred for large plasma displays. Most modern computers can be set to switch the monitor into a lower power mode. A power saving mode for monitors is usually part of the power management options supported in most modern operating systems, though it must also be supported by the computer hardware and monitor itself.
Additionally, using screensavers free with a flat panel or LCD screen instead of powering down the screen can actually reduce the lifetime of the display, since the fluorescent backlight remains lit and ages faster than it would if the screen was turned off completely. As fluorescent tubes age they grow progressively dimmer. A typical LCD screen loses about 50% of its brightness during a normal product lifetime. (In most cases, the tube is an integral part of the LCD and the entire assembly needs to be changed out)
Thus the term "screen saver" is somewhat a misnomer—the best way to save the screen (and also save electricity) would simply be to have the computer turn off the monitor.
Notice also that screensavers as well as free screensavers may utilize a significant amount of CPU time. On a busy server this might be a problem.
Additionally, using screensavers free with a flat panel or LCD screen instead of powering down the screen can actually reduce the lifetime of the display, since the fluorescent backlight remains lit and ages faster than it would if the screen was turned off completely. As fluorescent tubes age they grow progressively dimmer. A typical LCD screen loses about 50% of its brightness during a normal product lifetime. (In most cases, the tube is an integral part of the LCD and the entire assembly needs to be changed out)
Thus the term "screen saver" is somewhat a misnomer—the best way to save the screen (and also save electricity) would simply be to have the computer turn off the monitor.
Notice also that screensavers as well as free screensavers may utilize a significant amount of CPU time. On a busy server this might be a problem.
Earlier Free Screensavers
An early screensaver for the Macintosh platform, and later PC/Windows, After Dark, prominently featured whimsical designs such as flying toasters. Perhaps in response to the workplace environment in which they are often viewed, many free screensavers continue this legacy of whimsy by populating the idle monitor with animals or fish, games, and visual expressions of mathematics equations such as fractals.
The screensaver is also an outlet for the work of creative computer programmers. The Unix-based screensaver XScreenSaver collects the display effects of other Unix screensavers, which are termed "display hacks" in the jargon file tradition of US computer science academics. It also collects forms of computer graphics effects called demo effects, originally included in demos created by the demo scene.
The screensaver is also an outlet for the work of creative computer programmers. The Unix-based screensaver XScreenSaver collects the display effects of other Unix screensavers, which are termed "display hacks" in the jargon file tradition of US computer science academics. It also collects forms of computer graphics effects called demo effects, originally included in demos created by the demo scene.
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