Endless Slideshow Screensaver

Endless Slideshow Screensaver from Extreme Internet Software is a free slideshow screensaver that automatically searches for new desktop wallpaper online, downloads it, and displays it in your slideshow queue, so you always have new pictures to see. You can select categories for the program to search for, such as Nature, Animals, Cars, Girls, Men, or Cartoons. While the concept is interesting, we're not sure about the execution.

We installed Endless Slideshow Screensaver, opened its Settings dialog, and deselected all of the categories except one, Space. We clicked Preview, and the program opened and started downloading images, which it displayed shortly after the downloading began. The pictures were all high-quality astronomical images, many from NASA, and the slideshow employed a variety of different transitions and wipes to keep things interesting, though of course you can configure transition style, timing, and so on. When the downloading ceased, the screen preview ended. We set our screensaver timer for 1 minute, and, right on cue, Endless Slideshow Screensaver began its presentation. Next we clicked the program's desktop icon and reopened the Settings. We selected the Local pictures tab, which automatically indexed our picture library, though it's simple to add and remove specific folders. We clicked Preview, and the slideshow began displaying familiar images from our snapshot library. The Viewer and Slideshow tabs host familiar controls for changing how the slideshow looks and acts, while the Internet tab allows you to configure a proxy server. Online image search and retrieval are accomplished by something called Extreme Picture Finder, which seems to be a downgraded version of an image search and download tool from the same publisher.

Endless Slideshow Screensaver performs well and is based on an interesting concept, yet that concept is slightly troubling to us. In a nutshell, you can't control or even tell where the pictures are coming from, and there seem to be no filters or security options. We recommend it with reservations; those concerned about security will still find the local option to be a nice slideshow screensaver.