This is a very small screen saver. I have written extensions for a couple of BBS systems that are similar and got used to the small size and memory requirements and wanted something like them for my machine that doesn't run the BBS. Tiny Saver takes up about 6k of disk space and a partition of 30k of RAM when running.
Installing it.
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Tiny Saver is an application so no special installation is necessary. Just double-click to run it and quit it as you would any other application.
Setting it up.
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Configuration of Tiny Saver can be accomplished by choosing the "Configure" item from the "File" menu. This will bring up a dialog which gives you access to the configurable items. Checking "Auto-sleep" will make Tiny Saver invoke after a certain amount of inactivity. The amount of time can be set in the edit text item which follows. Checking "Display current time" will cause Tiny Saver to move the current time around the screen as it sleeps. I prefer to just black the screen out, but I realize that can be confusing sometimes because it looks like the computer is off. Checking "Finder to front" will make the Finder the foremost application after you run it. This is particulary useful if you use Tiny Saver as a start-up application. You also have the option of fading to black or white. White is useful if you have a PowerBook that you leave running. I added a last setting which allows you to set the amount of time that Tiny Saver gets. Some people wanted it to be more responsive. Really it doesn't matter unless you are doing CPU intensive stuff. If you are just word processing, etc. you can make it responsive. Likewise even some CPU intensive stuff, like compiling, is ok with this setting because those applications take complete control of the processor anyway and Tiny Saver can't do anything about the time it gets anyway.
Running it.
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Using Screen Saver is much like using any other screen saver. If you use the auto-sleep option Screen Saver will automatically hide the screen once your computer has been idle for the set period of time. Moving the mouse will 'wake up' Tiny Saver. If you would like to hide the screen immediately, place the pointer in the upper left hand corner. If you would like Tiny Saver to not hide the screen, you can place the pointer in the upper right hand corner. Tiny Saver is a little slow when reacting but that is because I wanted to give the maximum amount of time possible to anything that might be running in the background. For this reason Tiny Saver shouldn't slow down anything that is running when it envokes.
Limitations, problems etc
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Tiny Saver does differ from other screen savers. It is acting as part of an application, not a system extension. This means that it will be a little slower when reacting to events. In particular if you type really slowly in another application, it may miss some of the key presses and go to sleep. This is unlikely unless you have the auto-sleep time set really low. If you have problems set the 'Responsive' setting in the Preference dialog.
Future plans
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I don't want to jazz up Tiny Saver too much(there are plenty of 2 meg screen saver programs which take up 300k of RAM in this world already), but if there is something that would make it better while keeping it small I would love to hear about it. Contact me at the address below.
The next version of Tiny Saver will be a Faceless Background Application. This will make it even smaller (10k) and less obtrusive.
The plea.
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Tiny Saver is SHAREWARE. It isn't much but either is the price. I am more than willing to support it but new versions are of course dependent on interest and interest is dependent on feedback and the best feedback is registration. I have written a few shareware applications and it is getting discouraging, not to mention financially hard, to justify all the time. If you use it please register your copy. I feel that shareware has fallen into the same trap as the commercial system it is supposed to be an alternative to. Authors ask for such large fees because so few people actually send them in. This in turn causes fewer people to send them in, which makes authors feel they need to ask for more, which…you get the picture. I have intentionally made the price so reasonable you don't have any excuse not to pay the shareware fee. If you don't think the program is worth $2-$5 then DON'T USE IT.
Registration info
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To register send $2-$5, *and* the registration form below (the form does make things easier) to Chris Owen, PO Box 1471, Garden City, KS 67846 (before May 1993 you can send it to me at 27 Bishop St #2R, New Haven CT 06511). The fee will also cover future versions as they come out. Several people have asked about site licenses and I am more than happy to do that. Please contact me if you are interested.
If you have any questions or comments about Tiny Saver, I would appreciate hearing them. I can be reached on at the addresses below.
owenc@minerva.cis.yale.edu
owen-christopher@cs.yale.edu <---use this if the above bounces
Mulligan's Valley ("official" support board) 203-772-4485
