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Screensaver culture
Screensavers as historical artifact. A brief summary
of historical significance and current state of
disinterest.
Proposed task: Design a screensaver for the 21st
Century, updated to contemporary interface culture.
mariuswatz.com
twitter.com/mariuswatz
workshop.evolutionzone.com
flickr.com/photos/watz
vimeo.com/watz
delicious.com/garuda
Screensavers - a history
Screensavers are computer programs designed to
prevent phosphor burn-in on CRT monitors.
Saving the screen is done by blanking the
screen or filling it with non-static images or
patterns.
First recognized screensaver was scrnsave
(John Socha, 1983), which simply blanked the
screen. Predated by screensaver-like behavior on
Atari systems (1977, 1979).
Screensavers - a history
Screensavers quickly became an area of graphic
experimentation, typically using parametric
graphic algorithms to create ever-generating
images.
Popular in the 1990s as a way to customize
ones computer and express personality (much
like ringtones etc.) Many screensavers were
humorous or intended as eye candy, giving them
status as pop culture artifacts.
Possible high point: The After Dark screensaver
collection by Berkeley Systems, 1989.
Screensavers - typologies
Traditional screensaver types include:
- Simple blank screens
- Generative animations (i.e. Lissajous curves,
bouncing polygons, the Mac OS Flurry etc.)
- Animated jokes, software parodies
- Photographic slideshows
Also popular: Screensaver as corporate branding
and advertising channel (typically to promote
films, cars and consumer lifestyle products)
Stagnation
Mac OS X has cleverly used the Flurry
screensaver (developed by Calum Robinson,
2003) as an instant branding device, installed as
the default screen saver since 2003. The Flurry
graphic is now instantly recognizable and clearly
linked to the Apple brand.
Microsoft Windows 7 comes with a minimal
collection of bland screensavers, clearly showing
a lack of interest in the format.
http://twistori.com
http://twingly.com
http://www.geocodearth.com/
www.electricsheep.org
http://seticlassic.ssl.berkeley.edu/screensaver/
http://9031.com/goodies/#briblo
http://www.newrafael.com/shop/towards-and-beyond-screensaver/
http://www.stefantrifan.com/theweather/
SCR/Tha: Dropclock
http://scr.sc/products/dropclock/
http://www.reallyslick.com/screensavers.html