Do I really need a screen savor?

I close my laptop lid when not in use. Do I really need a screen savor?

 

No, it wouldn't be of any use to you. Even if you don't close it, you can get the screen to turn off after a while.

 

There are two purposes for screen savers: 1) to keep the screen from developing "burn-in", and 2) securing the PC after so many minutes (if you have it set to require a password after the screen saver is interrupted). The burn-in part was developed for CRT monitors (if the display didn't change at all for a long time, the pixels would be permanently damaged). LCD screens (such as your laptop screen) don't have burn-in problems.

In your case, unless you want Windows to lock the computer after a specified amount of time, there's no reason for a screen saver.

 

Now I've heard that "burn-in" can still happen with LCD's. Never witnessed it first hand though.

 

LCD screens do not have burn in however they do have a similar problem while may not be permanent could still last awhile. The article can be found at

http://compreviews.about.com/od/monitors/a/LCDBurnIn.htm

 

Plasma screens can get burn-in. LCD screens can SOMETIMES have the shadow effects represented in that article, however it almost never causes permanent damage, and I've never experienced it and don't know anyone that has, even though I've been using laptops/LCD monitors for years without using a screen saver.

 

Does this mean if I get a certain background image and have it there for oh I don't know maybe a year, that when I got to switch it I'll see the previous background for awhile??

 

It's possible, though I've never experienced that. For instance, I have a 5 year old laptop I've used a lot without a screen saver, and when I boot using a live Linux distro, I don't see the shadow of the Windows task bar that's been there forever (I don't auto-hide it).