Xscreensaver has apparently been checking for updates and is disappointed that it hasn't had one for 14 months because Debian is too stable. Can anyone recommend a linux screensaver which would work with xfce and can be trusted to never do that?
I was considering keeping xscreensaver and just blocking any network requests it makes at the firewall, but if jwz is going to be like that I guess it's enough motivation to actually look for a replacement.
xfce4-screensaver isn't packaged for debian stable as of yet, but I've built it from source with only minor hacking required to get it to run with the current version of everything else. Problem solved.
I know, it's hard to believe. The confidence with which it announced that an update is available suggests that the actual screensaver was checking for updates on its own. So far as the system package manager is concerned there isn't one.
As it turns out, it's just printing that message if more than 510 days have passed since the timestamp in version.h was updated, which it wasn't when the debian maintainers last applied a patch. So I guess it is taken as given that the program will forever continue to need updates that frequently and that those updates will be forthcoming.
Anyway, in keeping with the author's wishes I'll just use xfce4-screensaver instead. It seems fine.
