Editing Screensaver (section)

== History ==
Decades before the first computers using this technology were invented, [[Robert A. Heinlein]] gave an example of how they might be used<ref name="Technovelgy" /> in his novel ''[[Stranger in a Strange Land]]'' (1961):<ref>{{Cite book |last=Heinlein |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jBtDSf1VzQkC |title=Stranger in a Strange Land |publisher=[[Penguin Group|Penguin]] |year=1987 |isbn=9780441790340 |location=[[New York, New York]] |pages=448 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
{{blockquote|Opposite his chair was a stereovision tank disguised as an aquarium; he switched it on, guppies and tetras gave way to the face of the well-known Winchell Augustus Greaves.}}

The first screensaver was allegedly written for the original [[IBM PC]] by [[John Socha]], best known for creating [[Norton Commander]]; he also coined the term ''screen saver''. The screensaver, named ''scrnsave'', was published in the December 1983 issue of the ''[[Softalk]]'' magazine. It simply blanked the screen after three minutes of inactivity (an interval which could be changed by recompiling the program).

By 1983 a [[Zenith Data Systems]] executive included "screen-saver" among the new Z-29 [[computer terminal]]'s features, telling ''[[InfoWorld]]'' that it "blanks out the display after 15 minutes of nonactivity, preventing burned-in character displays."<ref name="chin19830411">{{Cite magazine |last=Chin |first=Kathy |date=April 11, 1983 |title=Z-29, a New Computer Terminal from Zenith Data Systems |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8S8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13 |magazine=[[InfoWorld]] |page=13 |language=en |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> The first screensaver that allowed users to change the activating time was released on [[Apple Computer|Apple]]'s [[Apple Lisa|Lisa]], in 1983.

The [[Atari 400]] and [[Atari 800|800's]] screens would also go through random screensaver-like color changes if they were left inactive for about 8 minutes. Normal users had no control over this, though programs did. These computers, released in 1979, are technically earlier "screen savers". Prior to these computers, games for the 1977 [[Atari 2600|Atari VCS/2600]] gaming console such as Combat and [[Breakout (video game)|Breakout]], included color cycling in order to prevent burn-in of game images into 1970s-era televisions. In addition, the first model of the [[TI-30]] calculator from 1976 featured a screensaver, which consisted of a decimal point running across the display after 30 seconds of inactivity. This was chiefly used to save battery power, as the TI-30 [[LED]] display was more power intensive than later LCD models. These are examples of screensavers in [[Read-only memory|ROM]] or the [[firmware]] of a computer.

[[Android 4.2]] introduced "daydreams", screensavers that activate while the device is [[dock connector|docked]] or charging.<ref name="Walter">{{Cite web |last=Walter |first=Derek |date=December 29, 2015 |title=How to Set Up Android's Daydream Screensaver |url=https://www.tomsguide.com/us/android-daydream,review-3306.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214202212/https://www.tomsguide.com/us/android-daydream,review-3306.html |archive-date=2021-12-14 |access-date=2021-12-14 |website=[[Tom's Guide]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Hoffman">{{Cite web |last=Hoffman |first=Chris |date=August 26, 2013 |title=5+ Cool Uses for Android's Daydream Mode |url=https://www.howtogeek.com/170990/5-cool-uses-for-androids-daydream-mode/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214202211/https://www.howtogeek.com/170990/5-cool-uses-for-androids-daydream-mode/ |archive-date=2021-12-14 |access-date=2021-12-14 |website=HowToGeek.com |language=en}}</ref>

In 2015 the screensaver "Event Listeners"<ref>{{Cite web |title=MAK Collection Online: Event Listeners by van den Dorpel |url=https://sammlung.mak.at/en/collection_online?id=collect-372479 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205115254/https://sammlung.mak.at/en/collection_online?id=collect-372479 |archive-date=2022-02-05 |website=Sammlung.mak.at}}</ref> of van den Dorpel became the first [[work of art]] that was purchased by a [[museum]] ([[Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna]]) using the cryptocurrency [[bitcoin]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ghorashi |first=Hannah |date=April 24, 2015 |title=MAK Vienna Becomes First Museum to Use Bitcoin to Acquire Art, a Harm van den Dorpel |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/mak-vienna-becomes-first-museum-to-acquire-art-using-bitcoin-a-harm-van-den-dorpel-3995/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409232002/https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/mak-vienna-becomes-first-museum-to-acquire-art-using-bitcoin-a-harm-van-den-dorpel-3995/ |archive-date=2023-04-09 |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=ArtNews.com}}</ref>

Modern graphics technologies such as [[3D computer graphics]] have allowed a wide variety of screensavers to be made. Screensavers with realistic 3D environments can be programmed and run on modern computers.