MSN Screensaver (beta)
/v3-uk/download-review/1956519/msn-screensaver-beta
22 Jul 2005, Paul Rowlingson , V3
Verdict
Perhaps of use if you're a Microsoft devotee, but of little use to anybody else
This screensaver from Microsoft is billed as way to stay on top of news, weather and email from your desktop.
It can be set up to display weather information (US only and requires your zip code), news headlines from MSNBC (select the subjects that interest you), and new hotmail and MSN Messenger messages.
An integrated search bar can be used to search the web, and your searches can be limited to news or images.
You can select an image folder on your PC which the screensaver will use as backgrounds, rotating through them in slideshow format.
If you know anybody who writes a blog using MSN Spaces you can also display the latest entries alongside the news headlines.
However, we struggled to get some of the features working. Despite adding numerous RSS feeds, they did not show up in the screensaver. If you can get these features working, why not let us and others know by leaving a comment below?
Note: you will need the MSN Search toolbar before you will be able to install this screensaver.
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Do you agree?
Awful
Quite Frankly, it's slow - heavy on resources.
Posted by James, 02 Aug 2005
Can't get RSS feeds working?
The likely reason your RSS feeds are not updating is because you're behind a firewall, and the screen saver doesn't handle proxy servers properly.
The next release should address that problem, as well as add weather data for international cities.
Li-Kai Chang
Program Manager, MSN Screen Saver
Posted by Li-Kai Chang, 30 Aug 2005