Help - how to make M$ Win Screensaver less dumb!?
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:48 am
Those familiar with the simulator I'm responsible for at work will know that the simulator is mostly unattended.
To prevent screen burn in we'd started to turn on the standard windows screensaver - but we have the following problems.
Windows (XP) screensaver doesn't recognise Joystick (USB) input as "activity" so screensaver will kick in over the top of the simulator even if its in use.
Because of the above - joystick wiggling does not clear the screensaver (mouse and keyboard are deliberately removed/hidden)
The apps which run on the four main simulator screens are controlled via a 5th touchscreen which starts and stops the various simulators. The screensaver does clear when going from 2D (standard Desktop) to 3D when the simulators start and vice versa (when shutting them down and dropping back to desktop).
We've tried writing an app for the touchscreen monitor that sends (via the network) a "wiggle" mouse to each of the PCs controlling each of the screens - but it's not currently working and this doesn't get round the problem of the PC not noticing that the joystick is being used.
Does anybody know of a screensaver-like app that will react to joystick input?
Ideally we'd also like the wondrous-non-existent-Nirvana-like screensaver to notice that either lots of network traffic is going on (the PCs that make up the simulator are networked together to display to share a common view/knowledge of their environment) and not kick in (as only one PC has the joystick plugged in - so it would be the only one to react to the point above).
Anybody know of anything even vaguely like this? (that solves even a part of our problem(s))
Our in-house programmer is quite rightly getting a bit tetchy about not getting his PhD done, so we're looking for something already available (have trawled the net - but may be asking the wrong question - there seems to be loads of stuff like this for unattended Kiosks - photobooths etc) but for silly money - but it does mean that it all seems possible...
TIA
DH
To prevent screen burn in we'd started to turn on the standard windows screensaver - but we have the following problems.
Windows (XP) screensaver doesn't recognise Joystick (USB) input as "activity" so screensaver will kick in over the top of the simulator even if its in use.
Because of the above - joystick wiggling does not clear the screensaver (mouse and keyboard are deliberately removed/hidden)
The apps which run on the four main simulator screens are controlled via a 5th touchscreen which starts and stops the various simulators. The screensaver does clear when going from 2D (standard Desktop) to 3D when the simulators start and vice versa (when shutting them down and dropping back to desktop).
We've tried writing an app for the touchscreen monitor that sends (via the network) a "wiggle" mouse to each of the PCs controlling each of the screens - but it's not currently working and this doesn't get round the problem of the PC not noticing that the joystick is being used.
Does anybody know of a screensaver-like app that will react to joystick input?
Ideally we'd also like the wondrous-non-existent-Nirvana-like screensaver to notice that either lots of network traffic is going on (the PCs that make up the simulator are networked together to display to share a common view/knowledge of their environment) and not kick in (as only one PC has the joystick plugged in - so it would be the only one to react to the point above).
Anybody know of anything even vaguely like this? (that solves even a part of our problem(s))
Our in-house programmer is quite rightly getting a bit tetchy about not getting his PhD done, so we're looking for something already available (have trawled the net - but may be asking the wrong question - there seems to be loads of stuff like this for unattended Kiosks - photobooths etc) but for silly money - but it does mean that it all seems possible...
TIA
DH