Space TV: Here's a very cool usage I came up with for XScreenSaver

[jameskga]

Sometimes the screensavers were too flashy, so I disabled random/all and picked just one that I liked. Then I noticed it kept using a default image, so I went into the Advanced tab and in the Image Manipulation, I selected "choose a random image" and in the field, I put NASA's image of the day feed, here:

https://www.nasa.gov/rss/dyn/lg_image_of_the_day.rss

It'll pop up some weird error, saying that's not a directory, but the field says to put RSS feeds there if you like. So I did, and now in the middle of the night, it's as if I left an old TV on, and if I happen to open my eyes and look at the screen, I see beautiful modern photos of space, as if broadcast through an old antenna receiver TV. Like an Apollo mission in progress.

The images today weren't the best (Saturn's rings looked awesome yesterday), but you still get the idea:




I hear they are removing xscreensaver from the default 18.2 installation but it's still available in the package repository.

[wedjlok]

That's a great idea! I'm curious, though, are the extra settings that are being shown for customizing your screensaver dependent upon 18.2? I ask because I'm using 18.1 and there are not any of those extra or advanced settings features being shown with the screensaver for me, only the option to choose which one to use and that's it.

[obaino]

I put NASA's image of the day feed, here:

https://www.nasa.gov/rss/dyn/lg_image_of_the_day.rss

This was very useful. Thank you!

[jameskga]

That's a great idea! I'm curious, though, are the extra settings that are being shown for customizing your screensaver dependent upon 18.2? I ask because I'm using 18.1 and there are not any of those extra or advanced settings features being shown with the screensaver for me, only the option to choose which one to use and that's it.

Which desktop are you on? By chance, is it Mate?

[wedjlok]

Which desktop are you on? By chance, is it Mate?

Actually, I figured it out and have it set up now. I am using Cinnamon, to answer your question, though.

I ended up just installing the actual Xscreensaver packages and using the Xscreensaver Settings directly through that instead of the Cinnamon interface, and it works just as you have shared with the NASA RSS feed. Looks good! Thanks for the great idea!

[jameskga]

Which desktop are you on? By chance, is it Mate?

Actually, I figured it out and have it set up now. I am using Cinnamon, to answer your question, though.

I ended up just installing the actual Xscreensaver packages and using the Xscreensaver Settings directly through that instead of the Cinnamon interface, and it works just as you have shared with the NASA RSS feed. Looks good! Thanks for the great idea!

You're welcome! I'm glad to see you could use it. Which version of Mint are you on? 18.1?

[wedjlok]

You're welcome! I'm glad to see you could use it. Which version of Mint are you on? 18.1?

Yes, I'm using 18.1 and Cinnamon 3.2.7. I have it on all of my systems. I WAS using a Windows machine also (Surface Pro 4) but it has since crashed beyond repair in the last couple of days and won't even boot up. Sadly, it happened after the last Windows update before I had the chance to experiment with Linux on it at all. So now it's a several hundred dollar paperweight until I pull the SSD out of it for other uses.

[jameskga]

You're welcome! I'm glad to see you could use it. Which version of Mint are you on? 18.1?

Yes, I'm using 18.1 and Cinnamon 3.2.7. I have it on all of my systems. I WAS using a Windows machine also (Surface Pro 4) but it has since crashed beyond repair in the last couple of days and won't even boot up. Sadly, it happened after the last Windows update before I had the chance to experiment with Linux on it at all. So now it's a several hundred dollar paperweight until I pull the SSD out of it for other uses.

Nice! At least there's an SSD in your paperweight! It's a shame about the machine, though. I enjoy repurposing old machines into single-use computers. My favorite use for any old computer is to turn it into an always-on Al Jazeera streaming machine - bonus points if it has built-in, external volume buttons.

Tweetdeck is another great use for a single-use computer. Just watch the stream flow if you wanna zone out for a minute.

Back to the subject at hand: In 18.2 Mint developers decided to axe xscreensaver from the default installation. It's available in Software Manager, though, and XanalogTV is available in there as well!

How did you get Xscreensaver to play nice with the existing screensaver stuff? Did you uninstall the existing, baked-in screensaver software first?