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	"plain_text": "Screensaver\r\nBy Contributors to Wikimedia projects\r\nPublished: 2002-09-23 · Archived: 2026-04-05 20:03:08 UTC\r\nFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia\r\n\".scr\" redirects here. For CAD scripts, see CadSoft EAGLE.\r\nEinstein@Home interactive screensaver\r\nA screensaver (or screen saver) is software that controls a monitor of the host computer with the intent of\r\npreventing screen burn-in for a screen susceptible to it. Generally, a screensaver starts controlling a monitor when\r\nthe computer has been idle for a designated period of time and fills the screen either with black (all pixels off) or\r\nwith changing graphics that tend to prevent each pixel from being on for a long time. Although monitors were\r\ncommonly constructed with screen technology that was susceptible to burn-in (CRT and plasma), most modern\r\nmonitors are LCD which are not. Another modern technology, OLED, is susceptible.[1]\r\nIn addition to the feature described by its name (saving a screen from burn-in), a screensaver may provide other\r\nfeatures. It may provide physical security by requiring a password to exit the screen control mode. Some use\r\notherwise-idle computer resources to do useful work, such as processing for volunteer computing projects.[2]\r\nMany modern devices such as televisions and other digital entertainment devices include a screensaver.\r\nA monitor controlled by a screensaver consumes the same amount of power as when the screensaver is not\r\ncontrolling it, which can be anywhere from a few watts for small LCD monitors to several hundred for large\r\nplasma displays. Most modern computers can be set to switch the monitor into a lower power mode, blanking the\r\nscreen altogether. A power-saving mode for monitors is usually part of the power management options supported\r\nin modern operating systems, though it must also be supported by the computer hardware and monitor itself.\r\nUsing a screensaver with a flat panel or TFT LCD screen not powering down the screen can actually decrease the\r\nlifetime of the display, since the fluorescent backlight remains lit and ages faster than it would if the screen is\r\nturned off and on frequently.\r\n[3][4]\r\n As fluorescent tubes age they grow progressively dimmer, and they can be\r\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screensaver\r\nPage 1 of 5\n\nexpensive or difficult to replace. A typical LCD screen loses about 50% of its brightness during a normal product\r\nlifetime. In most cases, the tube is an integral part of the LCD and the entire assembly needs to be replaced. This\r\nis not true of LED backlit displays.\r\nThus the term \"screen saver\" is now something of a misnomer – the best way to save the screen and also save\r\nelectricity consumed by screen would simply be to have the computer turn off the monitor. Screensavers\r\ndisplaying complex 3D graphics might even add to overall power draw.\r\n[5]\r\nBefore the advent of LCD screens, most computer screens were based on cathode-ray tube (CRT) technology.\r\nWhen an image is displayed on a CRT screen for a long period, the properties of the exposed areas of the\r\nphosphor coating on the inside of the screen gradually and permanently change, eventually leading to a darkened\r\nshadow or \"ghost\" image on the screen, called screen burn-in. Televisions, oscilloscopes and other devices that use\r\na CRT are susceptible to phosphor burn-in, as are plasma displays to some extent.[6] Screensavers were originally\r\ndesigned to help avoid these effects by automatically changing the images on the screen during periods of user\r\ninactivity.\r\nFor CRTs used in public, such as an automated teller machine (ATM) and railway ticketing machine, the risk of\r\nburn-in is especially high because a stand-by display is shown whenever the machine is not in use. Older\r\nmachines designed without burn-in problems taken into consideration often display evidence of screen damage,\r\nwith images or text such as \"Please insert your card\" (in the case of ATMs) visible even when the display changes\r\nwhile the machine is in use. Blanking the screen is not a valid option as the machine can be perceived as out of\r\nservice. In these applications, burn-in can be prevented by shifting the position of the display contents every few\r\nseconds, or by having a number of different images that are changed regularly.\r\nLater CRTs were much less susceptible to burn-in due to improvements in phosphor coatings, and because modern\r\ncomputer images are generally lower contrast than the stark green-on-black or white-on-black text and graphics of\r\nearlier systems. LCD computer monitors, including the display panels used in laptop computers, are not\r\nsusceptible to burn-in because the image is not directly produced by phosphors although they can suffer from a\r\nless extreme and usually non-permanent form of image persistence.\r\nWhile modern screens are not susceptible to burn-in, screensavers are still used for other purposes. They usually\r\nfeature moving graphics and sometimes sound.\r\nGNOME Screensaver has an option for password protection.\r\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screensaver\r\nPage 2 of 5\n\nAs a screensaver usually activates when the user is away, some screensavers ask users for a password before\r\nrelinquishing control of the screen for normal computer use. This is a basic security measure against another\r\nperson accessing the machine while the user is away.\r\nSome screensavers activate a background task, such as a virus scan or a volunteer computing application (such as\r\nthe SETI@home project).[7] This allows applications to use resources only when the computer would be otherwise\r\nidle. The Ken Burns panning and zooming effect is sometimes used to bring the image to life.\r\nXScreenSaver displaying a Matrix-style screensaver\r\nAfter Dark was an early screensaver for the Macintosh platform, and later PC/Windows, which prominently\r\nfeatured whimsical designs such as \"flying toasters\". Perhaps in response to the workplace environment in which\r\nthey are often viewed, many screensavers continue this legacy of whimsy by populating the idle monitor with\r\nanimals or fish, video games, and visual expressions of mathematics equations (through the use of fractals, Fourier\r\ntransforms or other means) as in the Electric Sheep screensaver.\r\nAt least one screensaver, Johnny Castaway, told a humorous animated story over many months.[8] The ability of\r\nscreensavers to divert and entertain is used for promotion, especially to build buzz for \"event-based\" products\r\nsuch as feature films.\r\nThe screensaver is also a creative outlet for computer programmers. The Unix-based screensaver XScreenSaver\r\ncollects the display effects of other Unix screensavers, which are termed \"display hacks\" in the Jargon File\r\ntradition of US computer science academics. It also collects forms of computer graphics effects called demo\r\neffects, such as were originally produced by the demoscene.\r\nThe first screensaver was allegedly written for the original IBM PC by John Socha, best known for creating\r\nNorton Commander; he also coined the term screen saver. The screensaver, named scrnsave, was published in the\r\nDecember 1983 issue of the Softalk magazine. It simply blanked the screen after three minutes of inactivity.\r\nBy 1983 a Zenith Data Systems executive included \"screen-saver\" among the new Z-29 computer terminal's\r\nfeatures, telling InfoWorld that it \"blanks out the display after 15 minutes of nonactivity, preventing burned-in\r\ncharacter displays.\"[9] The first screensaver that allowed users to change the activating time was released on\r\nApple's Lisa, in 1983.\r\nThe Atari 400 and 800's screens would also go through random screensaver-like color changes if they were left\r\ninactive for about 8 minutes. Normal users had no control over this, though programs did. These computers,\r\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screensaver\r\nPage 3 of 5\n\nreleased in 1979, are technically earlier \"screen savers\". Prior to these computers, games for the 1977 Atari\r\nVCS/2600 gaming console such as Combat and Breakout, included color cycling in order to prevent burn-in of\r\ngame images into 1970s-era televisions. In addition, the first model of the TI-30 calculator from 1976 featured a\r\nscreensaver, which consisted of a decimal point running across the display after 30 seconds of inactivity. This was\r\nchiefly used to save battery power, as the TI-30 LED display was more power intensive than later LCD models.\r\nThese are examples of screensavers in ROM or the firmware of a computer.\r\nAndroid 4.2 introduced \"daydreams\", screensavers that activate while the device is docked or charging.[10][11]\r\nIn 2015 the screensaver \"Event Listeners\"[12] of van den Dorpel became the first work of art that was purchased\r\nby a museum (Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna) using the cryptocurrency bitcoin.\r\n[13]\r\nModern graphics technologies such as 3D computer graphics have allowed a wide variety of screensavers to be\r\nmade. Screensavers with realistic 3D environments can be programmed and run on modern computers.\r\nDegaussing\r\nDVD screensaver\r\n1. ^ \"Screensaver (Inventor of) by Robert Heinlein from Stranger in a Strange Land\". Technovelgy.com.\r\nArchived from the original on March 18, 2015.\r\n2. ^ Einstein@Home Screensaver | Multi-Directional 2.07, 21 September 2020, archived from the original on\r\n2022-09-03, retrieved 2022-09-18 – via YouTube\r\n3. ^ \"Science Fact or Science Fiction: Fluorescent Lights\". CBC.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.\r\nArchived from the original on 2011-10-28. Retrieved 2022-01-12.\r\n4. ^ \"When to Turn Off Your Lights\". Energy.gov. United States Department of Energy. Archived from the\r\noriginal on 2019-03-22. Retrieved 2019-03-22.\r\n5. ^ Hoffman, Chris (September 16, 2016). \"Why Screen Savers Are No Longer Necessary\". HowToGeek.com.\r\nRetrieved 2024-07-13.\r\n6. ^ Phillips, Gavin (January 24, 2020). \"How to Fix Screen Burn-In on TVs: Plasma, LCD, and OLED\".\r\nMakeUseOf.com. Archived from the original on 2024-01-26. Retrieved 2022-09-18.\r\n7. ^ SETI@home Screensaver | Enhanced 5.27. Archived from the original on 2022-09-29. Retrieved 2022-\r\n09-18 – via YouTube.\r\n8. ^ Emrich, Johnny L.; Wilson (January 1993). \"The Misadventures of Johnny Castaway\". Computer\r\nGaming World. p. 16. Archived from the original on 2016-07-02. Retrieved 2014-07-05.\r\n9. ^ Chin, Kathy (April 11, 1983). \"Z-29, a New Computer Terminal from Zenith Data Systems\". InfoWorld.\r\np. 13 – via Google Books.\r\n10. ^ Walter, Derek (December 29, 2015). \"How to Set Up Android's Daydream Screensaver\". Tom's Guide.\r\nArchived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 2021-12-14.\r\n11. ^ Hoffman, Chris (August 26, 2013). \"5+ Cool Uses for Android's Daydream Mode\". HowToGeek.com.\r\nArchived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 2021-12-14.\r\n12. ^ \"MAK Collection Online: Event Listeners by van den Dorpel\". Sammlung.mak.at. Archived from the\r\noriginal on 2022-02-05.\r\n13. ^ Ghorashi, Hannah (April 24, 2015). \"MAK Vienna Becomes First Museum to Use Bitcoin to Acquire Art,\r\na Harm van den Dorpel\". ArtNews.com. Archived from the original on 2023-04-09. Retrieved 2024-07-13.\r\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screensaver\r\nPage 4 of 5\n\nLook up screensaver in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.\r\nSource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screensaver\r\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screensaver\r\nPage 5 of 5",
	"extraction_quality": 1,
	"language": "EN",
	"sources": [
		"MITRE"
	],
	"references": [
		"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screensaver"
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		"Screensaver"
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