Screen savers actually make things worse, using 28% more power than normal, says the NRDC's Horowitz.

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Prequel Screen Savers: These two screen savers include sounds, pictures, and animations from The Phantom Menace, along with fan art and behind-the-scenes photos.

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Attack of the Show is the flagship program for the channel, but was widely derided as worse than the show it replaced, The Screen Savers.

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Connoisseurs can also get forecasts and storm alerts on their cell phones, screen savers, and General Motors ' (nyse: GM - news - people )OnStar telematics service as well.

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Compare that with the Trojan Horse strategies of rivals Claria (once known as Gator) and WhenU: Their software is often embedded in games or screen savers that many people download unknowingly. (The companies insist they give fair warning of what you're downloading in their click-on licenses.) "No need to be obnoxious, " says Keith Smith, 33, who founded 180 in 1999.

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