Gnome-screensaver
Encyclopedia
gnome-screensaver is the GNOME
project's official screen blanking and locking framework. On some GNOME-based Linux distribution
s, it is used instead of the framework that is a part of XScreenSaver
.
On these systems, the screen savers themselves still come from the XScreenSaver
collection. gnome-screensaver is just the user interface.
The gnome-screensaver interface is designed for improved integration with a GNOME desktop, including themeability, language support, and Human interface guidelines
compliance.
Compared to the front end included with XScreenSaver, gnome-screensaver has a simplified interface
but less customizability. For instance, users may not select which screensavers to select at random – either only one is selected or the program randomly selects from the whole list. In addition, the inability to configure individual screensavers and the developers' response to this issue has been criticized by some users. It also lacks a setting to control cycling through different screensavers.
In recognition that the situation had turned into an organizational deadlock, and that the controversy on such an apparently simple but highly visible issue was severely damaging the image of the whole GNOME project, the GNOME 3 version of gnome-screensaver has been drastically simplified, supporting only screen blanking but no graphical screen savers.
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...
project's official screen blanking and locking framework. On some GNOME-based Linux distribution
Linux distribution
A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...
s, it is used instead of the framework that is a part of XScreenSaver
XScreenSaver
XScreenSaver is a collection of about two hundred free screensavers for Unix and Mac OS X computers. It was created by Jamie Zawinski in 1992 and is still maintained by him....
.
On these systems, the screen savers themselves still come from the XScreenSaver
XScreenSaver
XScreenSaver is a collection of about two hundred free screensavers for Unix and Mac OS X computers. It was created by Jamie Zawinski in 1992 and is still maintained by him....
collection. gnome-screensaver is just the user interface.
The gnome-screensaver interface is designed for improved integration with a GNOME desktop, including themeability, language support, and Human interface guidelines
Human Interface Guidelines
Human interface guidelines are software development documents which offer application developers a set of recommendations. Their aim is to improve the experience for the users by making application interfaces more intuitive, learnable, and consistent. Most guides limit themselves to defining a...
compliance.
Compared to the front end included with XScreenSaver, gnome-screensaver has a simplified interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
but less customizability. For instance, users may not select which screensavers to select at random – either only one is selected or the program randomly selects from the whole list. In addition, the inability to configure individual screensavers and the developers' response to this issue has been criticized by some users. It also lacks a setting to control cycling through different screensavers.
In recognition that the situation had turned into an organizational deadlock, and that the controversy on such an apparently simple but highly visible issue was severely damaging the image of the whole GNOME project, the GNOME 3 version of gnome-screensaver has been drastically simplified, supporting only screen blanking but no graphical screen savers.