[WEB4LIB] OPAC Security Revisited

[Walt_Crawford at notes.rlg.org]

Laurie,

I'll address the one question I believe I can answer:

   2) Library staff would prefer not to use any screensavers. Do we still
   have
   to in order to prevent screen damage even with the new models?

Direct answer:

No, with a caveat. LCD screens don't have phosphors, so they don't suffer
_permanent_ burn-in.
They can, apparently, suffer "temporary burn-in," but the "burned" image
fades away after a while.

General issue: Unless it would mess up services too badly, you're always
better off using power management (built in to the OS) rather than
screensavers, that is, letting the display go to standby after 10 or 30
minutes of inactivity. That saves power. For LCD displays, it also
lengthens the life of the display and the backlight, as well as preventing
temporary burn-in.
But--as with a screensaver, for that matter--you need something at the PC
(a label?) to let people know to press Shift or something, to turn the
screen back on.

-walt crawford-