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From: DAN@IBM.COM.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Screen savers
Message-ID: <030387.133437.dan@ibm.com>
Date: Tue, 3-Mar-87 15:16:30 EST
Article-I.D.: ibm.030387.133437.dan
Posted: Tue Mar  3 15:16:30 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 5-Mar-87 23:41:56 EST
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Distribution: world
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 18

Surely you don't want the screen saver to put the screen back up every
time the clock ticks in a window.  If it is to be dependent on changes
to a window then it must be on a per window basis.  If it does not
depend on the user interacting then how do you treat a message
arriving and getting written to a window in the following cases: (1)
screen is active but I am not watching it; (2) screen is not active
and I am out of the room (so I don't see it come alive and go back to
sleep).  In both cases you will not notice the arrival of of the
message unless you explicitly look at that window and remember its
previous contents enough to notice that there is something new.
The only case where I notice a write to the screen is if I am
watching it. Admittedly it is particularly noticeable if you are
watching a blank screen waiting for it to suddenly spring to life.

It is useful to have an explicit key sequence to blank the screen
if you are working on something personal and someone walks in who
should not see what is on the screen. In particular I don't want
the screen to suddenly appear while he is still there.