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List:       kde-bugs-dist
Subject:    [Bug 86195] wish: kscreensaver should "play nicely" with
From:       Richard Neill <kde () richardneill ! org>
Date:       2004-07-29 17:38:06
Message-ID: 20040729173806.9183.qmail () ktown ! kde ! org
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http://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=86195      




------- Additional Comments From kde richardneill org  2004-07-29 19:38 -------
> How does an option "use Xscreensaver rather than kscreensaver" provide
> simplicity? It assumes that the user _knows_ what xscreensaver is, what
> the differences are, and why they should even care about which
> screensaver engine they use.

If xscreensaver is installed, it's probably there because the user explicitly \
installed it. (It's not a default, at least under Mandrake). It would be, I think, \
simpler because then the user would be spared from having to know that "if you want \
xscreensaver, you must *disable* the kde screensaver in the kde control panel"


> What process is ugly? What changes to config files?

In order to get xscreensaver working, I have to:
1) put an entry in ~/.kde/Autostart for
      kstart xscreensaver -nosplash 2>/dev/null &
2) Disable the KDE screensaver in the KDE control panel.
3) Run the xscreensaver-demo command to configure xscreensaver
4) remember that if I want to lock the desktop, I need to used
     xscreensaver-command -activate
  rather than just clicking the lock button.


> That's not surprising. The control centre is meant to provide a
> completely transparent way of either using xscreensaver screensavers or
> native kscreensaver screensavers. Why do you feel the need to use
> xscreensaver manually?

Have you actually played with xscreensaver-demo? It does far more than the \
                kde-screensaver-control panel. It also has some useful features \
                allowing me to:
    * have a random demo every X minutes
    * control which subset of screensavers should be included in the list from 
        which random demos are selected
    * determine (globally) the source of images used
    * given that I have 2 monitors, it will draw 2 different demos, one on 
       each, rather than stretching a single one across the middle!
    * It's scriptable using xscreensaver-command (although granted, you can
       probably do this with dcop)

> > 3)The use of kscreensaver rather than xscreensaver for locking the
> > desktop doesn't have an easy workaround.

> I don't understand this statement.

Sorry. What I mean is that, normal, after 15 minutes of inactivity, I get \
xscreensaver. But if I use the lock-icon in kde, I get KDE's screensaver running \
instead.


> > 4)Xscreensaver-demo is more flexible
> I'm not too familiar with it. Can you explain how it's more flexible?

See above. It is worth playing with! (Although it can be far too addictive!)

> > 5)xscreensaver has better behaviour with xinerama.
> This is a problem in kscreensaver I admit, but I don't think ripping
> out years and years worth of testing and pretty well working code will
> help much to make xinerama work better. 



I'm not really suggesting that you should rip out what is there already. What I'm \
suggesting is that, if xscreensaver is installed on the system (and even more so, if \
it is actually *running*), then kcontrolcentre should detect it, and  try to do "the \
right thing". At the moment, I think the behaviour is wrong, because if the user has \
made a choice to use xscreensaver itself, the KDE gui is configuring (and starting) \
the wrong program!

Lastly, I think that my suggestion would be an easy one to implement (sorry I can't \
send you a patch, but I'm not a C++ programmer); it would fix the "broken" behaviour \
for those who use Xscreensaver; and it wouldn't get in the way of those who do not.

Best wishes

Richard


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