1. Create a directory $HOME/MercuryScreensaver
# mkdir MercuryScreensaver
2. Download the Mercury screensaver
Go to oracle.2question.com/rss/images/MercuryScrEdition.tar.gz (~60 Kb) to download the screensaver
Save the file into the directory $HOME/MercuryScreensaver
unzip with
# gunzip MercuryScrEdition.tar.gz
untar with
# tar -xvf MercuryScrEdition.tar
3. Download the Linux stand alone Flashplayer
Go to macromedia.mplug.org to download the Macromedia stand alone Flashplayer for Linux.
Save the file in directory $HOME/Desktop
Note: Look for the stand alone player with name (others are plug-ins):
Generic .tar.gz flash-plugin flash-gflashplayer
4. Install the stand alone Flashplayer
Installation
------------
To install the Plug-in Player for Linux:
- This installer is script-based and cannot be run from a GUI.
- Uncompress install_flash_player_6_linux.tar.gz. A directory called install_flash_player_6_linux is created. Navigate to this directory.
- From the command line, type ./flashplayer-installer to run the installer. The installer will instruct you to shut down your browser(s).
- Once the installation is complete, the plug-in will be installed in your Mozilla browser. To verify, choose Help > About Plug-ins from the browser's menu.
To install the Standalone Player for Linux:
- This installer is script-based and cannot be run from a GUI.
- Uncompress install_flash_player_6_linux_sa.tar.gz. A directory called install_flash_player_6_linux_sa is created. Navigate to this directory.
- From the command line, type ./flashplayer-installer to run the installer. For root users, gflashplayer will be copied to /usr/bin. For non-root users, it will be copied to a folder named bin in your home directory.
5. Configure xscreensaver to use the Mercury screensaver as the actual screensaver
Macromedia's stand-alone Flash player has xscreensaver support, as of version 6.0.79 and later. To use it, put a line like this in the `programs' preference in your .xscreensaver file:"Mercury (RSS Screensaver) " gflashplayer -root $HOME/MercuryScreensaver/MercuryScrEdition.swf \n\
If the file .xscreensaver does not exist, execute xscreensaver-demo, select a screensaver and close it. A .xscreensaver file will be created in your $HOME directory- To view the complete instruction, see the FAQ question How do I make xscreensaver play a video clip?.
- An example of the .xscreensaver file is displayed below
# XScreenSaver Preferences File
# Written by xscreensaver-demo 4.10 for mercury_rss on Fri Jul 30 11:09:52 2004.
# http://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/# --- deleted for display purposes ---
programs: \
"Attraction (balls)" attraction -root -mode balls \n\
Best: "Mercury (RSS Newsreader)" \
/home/mercury_rss/bin/gflashplayer -root \
/home/mercury_rss/screensaver.swf \n\
"Attraction (lines)" attraction -root -mode lines -points 3 \
-segments 200 \n\
- "Attraction (poly)" attraction -root -mode polygons \n\# --- deleted for display purposes ---
5. Execute xscreensaver-demo and select the Mercury (RSS Screensaver)
Congratulations, you've just completed the installation of the Mercury Screensaver!
6. Desktop versions of Gnome and KDE
As the Mercury Screensaver relies on xscreensaver, it works fine with it. Gnome is well implemented. KDE has its own wrapper for xscreensaver.
To use the Mercury Screensaver with other versions of linux or other desktop environments, see the documentation on www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/man1.html to configure. It also works on CDE and HP VUE.