screensaver purpose

[leelfelr]

hi

' was wondering if screensavers have the same effect as turing the monitor off.
what's the purpose of a screensaver anyway?

tnx

[degsy]

Welcome

There are several different (minor) uses.

Usually it is just a way to tall that the PC is idle.
There are some further options though, such as requiring a Password to cancel it. It could be a sort of security, or hinderance.
I pesonally don't like them and if you are using XP you can use the Winkey+L (or Fast User Switching) to protect the PC if you are away from it.


There are also some screensavers that send data, such as seti@home.

As for being the same as turning off the monitor, i'm not actually sure of the powersaving qualities of screensavers.

[smurfy]

Other than the (very limited) security purpose, there really is no need to use a screensaver with any screen manufactured in the last 10 years. Screensavers were invented to prevent phosphor burn-in.

Actually, just did a quick google and found this article which says just about all I was about to type out... http://www.pcguide.com/ref/crt/powerSavers-c.html

[renegade600]

IMO, screensavers are obsolete. They did once have a purpose in preventing monitor screen damage but the power management system now takes care of that.

Now the only purpose of a screen saver is to make the monitor look good without having that dull black screen.