History of Screensavers

During the late 1980s to the early 90s, many cathode ray tubes (CRT) such as TVs and computer monitors were vulnerable to damage when the same pattern is displayed at the same position for extended period of time. This caused some portions of the screen to gray out. This problem then prompted companies to develop a program, which would be called "screensavers", which would prevent burn-in.

Early screensavers that were developed made the screen totally black. In 1989, the "Magic Screensaver" was born. This 16-bit screensaver was developed by Bill Stewart and Ian Macdonald and was also the one that started the world of screensavers. With Magic Screensaver, images and patterns are shown instead of the old screen black-out. Later on other screensaver programs such as Magic 2000 and After Dark, also emerged.

Today, screensavers display more complicated patterns and complex animations and have more settings that provide enhancement. Aside from computer monitors, screensavers have also been developed for other gadgets that are also susceptible to burn-in. Gadgets such as mobile phones, PDAs and even DVD players can utilize screensaver programs as well to prevent screen damage.