I've been to many PowerPoint presentations over the years. And though most people know that they need to put their computer in "presentation mode" before their talk, almost everybody forgets. So in the middle of the high-power presentation, invariably with bigwigs in the room, the screen goes blank, and out pop silly flying toasters or (much) worse. The speaker must stop mid-sentence, and frantically scramble to wake the laptop. It might then take the presenter a minute or two to regain his composure and continue where he left off.

This all to common scene could be largely prevented if there was a prominently placed button (or function key) that disables the screensaver. This button should also turn on a small indicator light, so you don't forget to enable the sceensaver again, when the presentation is over.

For further convenience, perhaps the laptop can also have an option that allows PowerPoint to automatically disable the sceensaver during presentations.
-- imho, Jun 16 2009

LCD Image Persistence http://compreviews....ors/a/LCDBurnIn.htm
Is the closest thing to screenburn, and isn't permanent. [mitxela, Jun 16 2009]

[Imho], i think this can already be done via the O/S.
-- nineteenthly, Jun 16 2009


The worst is where corporate policy mandates non-disableable screensavers on ALL computers, with a <1 min timeout, and mandatory password entry to unlock....

(not naming any large paranoid Japanese multinationals that I used to work for...)
-- prufrax, Jun 16 2009


Screensavers are completely pointless on laptops - LCD screens do not get screenburn. Neither do projector screens.

But this idea is easily doable - just like there are buttons on laptops which change volume control, etc, which just sends a command to the OS.
-- mitxela, Jun 16 2009


The Macintosh screen savers I used in the 1990's were all configurable to have a "never screensave" corner and a "screensave now (after about 2 seconds)" corner. Just park the mouse in the appropriate corner to achieve the desired functionality.
-- supercat, Jun 16 2009


How about a screen saver that bounces trivia questions related to the presentation around the screen? That way, if the presenter is spending too long on each slide (violating a cardinal rule of presentation design), at least the audience can test their comprehension rather than diverting their attention elsewhere.
-- swimswim, Jun 16 2009


// most people know that they need to put their computer in "presentation mode" before their talk, almost everybody forgets //
// prominently placed button (or function key) that disables the screensaver. This button should also turn on a small indicator light, so you don't forget //

Sounds like it needs to just be a presentation mode button, actually, if you already have that mode but forget to use it.

Windows 10 has a "do not disturb" feature that automatically limits what notifications appear onscreen when presenting (or gaming), but I don't know if it also holds off the screensaver.

// do not get screenburn. Neither do projector screens. //

Maybe not, but do the projectors? (Probably not. CRT projectors are very rare by now.)

// The Macintosh screen savers I used in the 1990's were all configurable to have a "never screensave" corner and a "screensave now (after about 2 seconds)" corner. Just park the mouse in the appropriate corner to achieve the desired functionality. //

Yes, but you will probably find it inconvenient to leave your cursor in one corner for the whole presentation.
-- notexactly, Jun 21 2019



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