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Screensavers are a ubiquitous part of computers. They are one of the most popular digital features of these electronic machines, and they have even found their way into mobile phones. So what are screensavers, what purpose do they serve, who creates them, and where do you get them from, are some of the questions that come to mind.

These days, screensavers have become a tool of entertainment, although this was not the purpose for what they were originally devised. The primary objective behind making a screensaver was to preserve the image quality of computer displays. They fill the screen with moving images when the computers are not in use. They are also configured for security purposes. A Sreensaver remains active until the user presses a key or makes a mouse movement. When the user presses a key, the previous screen contents are restored, and the screen saver is closed. Interestingly, there was a live TV show called ‘Screen Savers’, dedicated to computers and emerging new technologies on Tech TV.

Screensaver authoring tools like Screansaver Maker enable creating various kinds of screensavers .You can design them based on Flash, Image Slide Shows, Animations, Movies and WebPages. They can also be made for different system environments like Windows 95/98/2000/NT/XP, Linux and more.

Animal as a Screen Saver: Screensavers offer ample scope for the creative animal in you. They are designed and coded using various programming languages like C++, VC++ and graphics user interface tools. In some user interfaces, the images on the screen keep changing, while in others they remain constant. Screensavers with pictures of wild animals, birds and urban or wild landscapes and several animated savers are very popular. Aquariums, sea fronts, and islands also are widely featured as screen savers.

Screen Saver Downloads: Numerous websites offer the facility to download Scrensavers. While most downloads are free, some do need to be paid for, which can be checked out on these websites. You also need to find out about their copyrights and intellectual property rights before you download screensavers.

Readymade templates like the Active Screne Saver builder have made the task of creating screensavers much easier. Screensavers are available for various markets and categories like home and office desktops, factories & commercial desktops, studios, outdoors and many more.

Painting as a Screen Saver: Now, one can have images of paintings as a screensaver. Paintings made by renowned artists like Picasso, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michel Angelo, and M F Hussain, have found their way to computer and mobile screens as screensavers. Art connoisseurs especially love these screensavers. Besides, they help to promote the esoteric art world to the general public.

Screensavers are now increasingly used to initiate background tasks like virus scanning or distributed computing applications. Animated screensavers are the most popular form these days. Screensavers like ‘make LOVE not SPAM’ used to be in demand in the past. Animated 2D and 3D screensavers also have a huge fan following. You can choose designs and pictures for different occasions and seasons, e.g. Christmas, Thanksgiving, winter, and summer.

Screensavers are an integral part of desktops. They form an interesting background on the desktop when it is idle. One can creatively use them to convey a message or to serve a specific purpose.