Month: January 2017

Do You Really Need a Screensaver?

Do You Really Need a Screensaver?

Before LCD monitors became prevalent, screensavers were an essential part of any computer setup. This was because of a design flaw in CRT monitors. If an image was displayed for a long time, phosphor burn-in would occur. This simply means that if someone worked on MS-Word the entire day, the main interface would be left imprinted, more or less permanently, on the screen.

Screensavers were invented to avoid this issue by keeping constantly moving images or black screens on screen. But monitors have come a long way and the role of screensavers has now changed. The following are some of the reason you might want to install a screensaver.

1. Distraction – Dancing babies, koi carp swimming across you screen, the One Ring tumbling towards Mount Doom etc are all great distractions if you need a short break.

2. Security – Sometimes we forget to logoff or lockdown the computer when we step away from it. Having a screensaver that auto-locks the computer and requires a password to continue can be a lifesaver.

3. Promotions – If the computer screens in your office are visible to customers, it would be wise to put your products and services on rotation as a screensaver.

4. Uniformity – If you don’t have any products to promote or do not wish to use that method, you can always put your company logo as the official screensaver. This will help to avoid any embarrassing incidents involving inappropriate screensavers with customers.

5. Streaming info – Using a screensaver that pulls up RSS feeds might be useful in some circumstances.

What Happened to Google TV?

What Happened to Google TV?

In 2010 Google launched Google TV, a Smart TV setup box to access internet via TV and also watch TV over the internet. It adds interactivity to watching TV.

Physically it came via a set-top box or special TV sets that have the technology built in. Several manufacturers offered it such as Intel, Sony, and Logitech. The OS on the either methodology was Android.

The OS featured a home screen where users can bookmark channels, photo albums, music, etc. The interface looked very Boxee-like and would allow you to run applications and other features. Since Google opened the source code for Google TV for developers, so there were tons of useful (as well as useless) apps.

Google TV also featured the Chrome browser with the very latest flash plugin. Apart from using the browser for the usual needs, you could search for your favorite TV show and this is what the whole Google TV concept is mainly about. The results for your search would display links to the show on Hulu, download links on Amazon, links to the show on FOX’s website and even the TV schedule. When you saw it on the schedule, you can set it to be recorded on whatever DVR device you possess through the Google TV interface.

Google TV stopped in June 2014 and replaced by Android TV, which is far superior system.  Google has partnered with Sony, Philips and Sharp to offer this built in in their TV sets.