Running Linux as a Windows screensaver -- tutorial to build one

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Article Summary:
I have figured out how to run Linux as a Windows screensaver, and I would like to teach others how to build their own.
Article Description:
IBM published an article on this a little more than a year ago, but it has now disappeared off the IBM Developer web site. This gives an opportunity for Fedora Magazine to publish a follow-on. An archive copy of the IBM article is here https://www.researchgate.net/publication/387527603_Linux_as_a_Windows_Screensaver_--_Marketing_Novelty_Generation_Toolkit
The effect is this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PJBEHrcQr0&t=42s . Various articles about this are in my github repo here GitHub - tjcw/screensaver-docs: Documentation for Linux Screensavers · GitHub and tools to build it are here GitHub - tjcw/screensavers: Tools to build Microsoft Windows screensavers which are Linux distributions · GitHub .
My build is here QemuSaverOpen-1-10 - Google Drive

One of the docs in the repo may well be nearly ready as input to editing. See here screensaver-docs/editable at main · tjcw/screensaver-docs · GitHub
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Hi Chris.

While it is an amusing trick, I’m not sure a how-to for making MS Windows screensavers would really fit with Fedora Magazine’s goal of promoting FOSS, even if it is a Fedora Linux themed screensaver. I think we would rather people installed Fedora Linux directly on the hardware so that their experience would be less tainted and not restricted by other software.

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The idea is that a business might want to replace the Debian swirl with their own logo, and then start distributing screensavers as marketing novelties. My build has 2 screensavers each of which fits conveniently on a DVD (!). This could result in quite a large increase in open source adoption.
Along the way to building the screensaver, an ISO is built which you can write to a USB key with Rufus ( windows ) or balena-etcher ( Linux ) and get a proper Linux.

Linux Foundation published an article here Linux as a Screensaver for Windows: The Gift of Open Source Games and SBOMs for the Holidays - Linux.com with a second theme of how to generate an SBOM for the ISO.

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I’m a little confused by the stated motives in the article you linked:

So why should you read this article? Why, indeed, should I write it? My motive is to help remove two obstacles to the wider adoption of free and open source software.

Those obstacles are:

  • The perceived difficulty and disruptive effects of installing Linux
  • The uncertainty of hardware support for Linux

Creating and installing a MS Windows screensaver is not equal to installing Linux. It is not clear to me how installing a MS Windows screensaver would convince people that installing a real Linux distro on real hardware would be easy?

Likewise, running “Linux” as a screensaver process on MS Windows would prove nothing about Linux’s hardware support. It would be the MS Windows kernel that would be handling all the real hardware interaction in that configuration.

I do get that just showing Linux to people who normally use MS Windows would serve as a promotion, but I’d be a little worried that those same people might think the Linux screensaver is Linux (it is not).

It’s a novel idea, but I think we want to pass on this one.

Thanks for the offer though. :slightly_smiling_face:

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If you can think of an alternative outlet that might want to publish this, do let me know.

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Sure. If you go to the Marketing team’s Matrix channel here:

You can ask them to “boost” the articles you’ve already written on the Fedora Project’s social media channels.

Thanks again for your contributions. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Thanks, I have posted there. Can you check if I have got the posting right ?

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I would have just asked them if they could broadcast links to your linux.com article, but they might figure that out from what you posted. :slightly_smiling_face:

I do not know if they will agree to the request, but at least it gives you a place where you can get a second opinion.

Thanks.