Screensaver with the coreclient running as a service

Message boards : BOINC client : Screensaver with the coreclient running as a service
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Roelof

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Joined: 20 Aug 06
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Message 5400 - Posted: 21 Aug 2006, 11:54:54 UTC

Currently when running boinc as a service, there is no usefull boinc-screensaver. Could this be solved so that the boinc screensaver works again displayimng the different application specific images even when running the boinc-client as a service.

Remember the main reason people where interested in the original setihome was the pretty screensaver... Now with more projects to choose from there are even more different screensavers.

With CPU's so fast (for most people most of the time), those calculations can run always, and when the screensaver kicks in, you can have nice interesting and changing pictures (unlike the dull bouncing boinc logo).
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Profile Jord
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Message 5401 - Posted: 21 Aug 2006, 12:47:42 UTC
Last modified: 21 Aug 2006, 12:48:04 UTC

When installing BOINC as a service, you need to make sure that the service can interact with the desktop on localhost to have the screen saver (and graphics) back. As far as I know, this is a Windows security measure.

And it's easily solved as well, using this work around.
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Roelof

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Message 5505 - Posted: 3 Sep 2006, 16:07:53 UTC - in response to Message 5401.  

When installing BOINC as a service, you need to make sure that the service can interact with the desktop on localhost to have the screen saver (and graphics) back. As far as I know, this is a Windows security measure.

It Worked, changed it at home las week. Performed the change now on my laptop computer too, because boinc did noy start anymore (yes, I changed my user password for the account I installed boinc as a service on, and did not change it for the boinc service).

I think this is still a usebility issue, as users are normally encouraged to change passwords regulary. Why not have the installer create an account specially for boinc or have it as in installation option for the service to run with a local system account (i.e. background service with screensaver). Ok, this is less secure as all boinc-apps use that account too, but most users are runnig as admin equivalent anyway (because of lots of broken software that has to run but does not as a normal user without tweaking lots of rights to undocumented directories and regkeys).

Maybe it is possible to run boinc (as a service) with it's own local account (with minimal rights) and have a small helper service to under the local account to commmunicate with the screensaver and perhaps the boinc manager. That way the coreclient and the science apps are running in their own programm space with minimal rights without sharing rights with other user-accounts on the machine. Offcource this makes the installer more difficult, but with the MSI it is possble (same princyple could go on for linux versions).

But now I'll use the local account trick, to get the nice screensaver back.
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Message boards : BOINC client : Screensaver with the coreclient running as a service

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