The Main Function of Old Screen Protectors You Didn’t Know

Let’s go back to the times when there was no internet. We buy our games from computer vendors selling CDs for 2 and 3 liras, windows We listen to the music we have downloaded in the music player and while we are stuck with the different live images in the player. Even when you can’t do much without internet, you get bored. screen savers we are discovering.

In fact, most people only turn off the screen He thought it was, but the situation is quite different from what he thought. The main purpose of these swirling images on the screen was directly related to the health of your computer. Let’s look at the details together.

At the time when we needed screen protectors, we had monitors that looked like tube televisions:

CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) In these cone-shaped monitors, known as their name, when the same image remained open for a certain period of time, a condition called ‘burn-in’ occurred. The simplest solution to avoid this situation encountered due to the technology of the period, as you can imagine, is to either turn off the screen or keep it on. different images was to open.

However, even if the same image is not opened, constantly having different images on the screen shortens its life or reduces the screen quality over time:

So the best solution is when you get up from the computer for a short time. was to turn off the screen. However, this caused problems such as others shutting down the computer as it created the impression that the computer was running in vain. Easily Unfortunately, this problem, which can be overcome, did not completely eliminate the risk of shutdown, so a different alternative was required.

Because this is not only for computers, but also for widely used televisions. all around the world It was a valid issue. With hundreds of dollars and money of the time hundreds of TL Since these devices are also valuable, it was also important to find the alternative in question quickly.

It was noteworthy that Atari kept the screen constantly moving:

Today, some parents still game consoles Considering that he thought it would ruin the television, it is not difficult to think that this was a problem that was taken more seriously at that time. Although the burning problem we are talking about is connected to the TV, not the console. arcade took a precaution and 2600 In some games of its model, it kept the screen in motion.

The Atari 2600 came out in 1977. In the 1980s, we saw the rise of screensavers to tackle this problem:

At first, screen savers would turn the screen black after a certain time (usually 2-3 minutes). The first known example in this field was a computer programmer. John Socha developed by was SCRNSAVE. Other developers followed suit, designing screensavers that are more fun and pleasing to the eye. The most well-known of these is that we can show as a collection. After Dark it happened.

As the use of personal computers has become widespread since the 1990s, the number of screen protectors produced for these computers has also increased. In this context, we encountered legendary ones such as the 3D labyrinth. So how are they now?

Screen savers nowadays CRT monitor It’s not necessary as we don’t use it. Although there is still a burning problem in devices with plasma, this is temporary. On the contrary, burn-ins on CRT monitors permanent We can say that screen protectors had a very critical task.

Were there any downsides to them?

At that time 128MB storage seemed overkill, and other hardware was just as advanced. In this context, as soon as the screen saver is activated, it is largely RAM and processor they were using. In short, the most logical thing for a computer user at that time was to turn off the screen when not using the computer.

Are they used today?

You may see some users still using them, but the main purpose here is not to prevent a trace on the monitor. More security For this reason, users prefer screen protectors nowadays. When they get up from their computer, the screen saver is activated, and when they return, they are ready to continue using the computer. entering their passwords is requested.

And here’s a final bonus from us:

You can share your thoughts in the comment section.

resources: Make Use Of, Easy Tech Junkie, The Silicon Undergroud, The Silicon Underground (2), Eye on Design, Bilgi Ustam