A while ago, I wrote about a great CD find: Online Software Volume 2 - 1000 Utilities. I mentioned that there was so much on here that I wanted to cover, I'd have to come back to it again a couple more times in the future to go into more detail.


This article is going to be one of those times! And not even the only time I cover the screensavers alone on here - I've got 40 to share this time, but it's only around half of the screensaver content on the disk, so I'll have to do a Part 2 at some point, too.

So, let's get into it! Let's look at some of the screensavers on Online Software Volume 2 - 1000 Utilities...

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Akubi / Yawn

All of the screensavers come with readme files seemingly written by the original creators, which is really charming to me. Here's some translated lines of Akubi's readme file:

There isn't much content worth adding an explanation for, but the image displayed by the Akubi screensaver is simply a yawn. I think it's a rather suitable thing for a screensaver.

While staring at it absentmindedly, you might start feeling sleepy yourself. My handle name is also Akubi, so I thought it would be a funny joke. (^-^;)

Although it is still in its early stages of development, I would appreciate it if you could give me your feedback and opinions. If you email me, I might get motivated to release an updated version, so please feel free to do so. m(_ _)m

When I first saw this, I hadn't seen the description, and as soon as I realized the shrinking shapes on the screen were a huge mouth, I laughed a lot. Imagine an old PC CRT monitor and this screensaver is taking up all of it... A good look. I wonder if Akubi ever made an updated version?

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Apple

This screensaver features a cute knife that appears and peels away the desktop like peeling an apple. It humorously imitates the human action of peeling an apple, making it fun to watch.

Simple and cute! I like how smooth it animates if you change the settings, where you can change values that determine the spacing, vertical and horizontal size of the cut strips, and the time taken to peel a strip.

I only learnt recently that screensavers are basically functionally the same as regular executable exe files, just set up to run as a screensaver. Making a screensaver would have been a fun way to learn some basic programming techniques... Ahh, I want to try make one now...

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Aqwd

Fishtank screensavers were Huge, probably due to a combination of them being fairly easy to program, make additional versions with different fish just by changing the images, and also kind of being like a simplified virtual pet. I seem to remember realistic fish screensavers being a popular thing, anyway...

This one is not quite so realistic. The repeated, loud, low quality bubbles effect that plays now and again is a great touch. The different styles of all the underwater life is also great. All around, a really good screensaver.

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Beautiful Nurse

Thank you for downloading the "Nurse Stripping Screensaver for WIN95." This software is shareware, so after confirming its operation, please register your payment. Please ensure you check the operation and send the payment. (Refunds are not possible.)

This is a walking screensaver featuring a nurse character. As the screen fades out, the nurse gradually undresses.

If you prefer, you can also display the nurse in a white coat, making it safe to use. Please configure the settings as you like on the settings screen. You can also adjust the speed.

(Incidentally, the graphics for this screensaver were provided by illustrator Harada Yuki.)

Wow, there she goes!! Walking across the screen, "UNREGISTERED" flashing across her clothing that never comes off because I haven't paid for the full version of this screensaver, which, to reiterate, is absolutely non refundable. That's okay, just seeing her smile is enough for me :)

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Boundball

Bound Ball is a screensaver program that runs on MS Windows 3.1. You can set the ball to change in "bound mode," where it moves like a pinball, bouncing around the screen, or in "ball-popping mode," where it pops up like a pinball hitting obstacles. Additionally, you can set it to move the screen without erasing it.

Gotta love a programmatically bouncing ball! Look at that, gravity and everything... For some reason it feels so impressive to see it bouncing around while the desktop stays as the background. This kind of stuff manages to impress me more than like, the PS6 or whatever.

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Chaos

Wow, look at the settings UI for this one! Really appropriate for a screensaver called Chaos. Look how good this button design is!!


It also plays a really loud chime whenever you open the settings:

The screensaver itself is, some kind of glowing maths. Great job! Maths that you can see is always better than maths that you can't see and have to force your brain to think about.

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Cimworld

CIM WORLD is a SimCity-style screensaver that runs on Windows 95 & NT.

When the screensaver starts, houses are built and grow, and the city develops. It’s a super-realistic screensaver where cars and airplanes also move, scaling and reducing the display according to the screen size. Occasionally, disasters like car accidents and fires occur, causing parts of the city to collapse (^-^;)

CIM WORLD!! I love it... Looking at anything in isometric perspective usually brings me joy, especially if it's a little town. The music is also amazing and makes me laugh every time that beautiful main melody flute kicks in.

There's actually two tracks included in the files, why not take a listen?

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Clione

This is a delightful screensaver featuring the "angel of the clear stream," the laughing Clione.

Clione is a type of sea slug found in the northern seas, and you can see them in aquariums across Japan. The author saw them at Enoshima Aquarium and Marine Paradise in Yokohama. Its real name is "Heteropod mollusk." The name "Clione" is derived from the Greek "sea nymph".

Cliones are about 1-2 cm in size and semi-transparent. Their heads have sensory organs that look like wings, giving them a charming appearance. They do not have eyes, as humans do. The author whimsically named them "laughing Clione".

Small Cliones swim around on the screen, creating a lovely scene. Let's all get healed by their charm. If you keep watching for a while, you'll start feeling like "Oh my!".

Wonderful!! The little pixel art sprites really are delightful... And I learnt so much about clione! Not what I expected from a screensaver readme file, but highly appreciated all the same.

I'd like to see real clione some day... I can point at them and say, oh my! Just like the screensaver!

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Diamond Dust

There wasn't any additional information about the screensaver itself in the readme, but it did include this really good message at the end:

P.S. Check out the following by my siblings:
My sister's "Energetic Fish" (WINNAL LIB10, Freeware)
My brother's "Blue Bubbling" (WINNAL LIB10, Shareware)

I want to find the screensavers by their siblings...! That's so nice of them to give them a shout out...

The screensaver itself is a rather nice, sparkly static effect. Looks quite beautiful!

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Denpa

This screensaver displays the color pattern that appears on TV after the broadcast ends or before it starts. Please enjoy it as if reminiscing about those times. It also includes clock and message functions.

Simple but useful there with the clock display! Another one imagine looking best with the full effect of it being on a CRT monitor in full display.

As for the name "Denpa", it seems to mean something like "radio waves" related to the transmission of broadcast signals, or static. Got it!

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DOS-kun

"Oh, the computer is...?"
This is the screensaver we introduced last time, "DOS-kun," which includes a message function. You can enter text in the settings screen, and that text will scroll as a message on the screen. Please enjoy it as you did last time.

If there are more than 10,000 files in the current directory, an error will occur. Please keep the file count within 10,000.

This one seems to list all the files in the same directory that the screensaver is in by default. If you're going to have something move around the screen in an attempt to reduce burn in, why not a big list of all your files? You get to see the names of some of your screensavers, so that's nice.

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Eeja

"Ee ja nai ka" is a screensaver that uses words. With a humorous voice, beautiful tones, nostalgic and nursery rhymes, it makes your favorite words into a screensaver. How to use it is up to you. If you love words, please give it a try.

The default message being displayed here is also the name of the screensaver. "Ee ja nai ka" (ええじゃないか) is a phrase that translates to something like "Isn't it great?" or "Why not?". I'm reading that it's an expression of enthusiasm, excitement, or encouragement. So, seeing it repeated as a screensaver is like a crowd of people cheering me on to keep writing about all these screensavers...! Thank you...

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Fuumon / Wind Pattern

For those who often see patterns formed by the wind on sandy surfaces, this screensaver replicates those wind patterns on your desktop.

At first glance, this screensaver looks calm. However, it gradually changes through the following four stages to create wind patterns.

It transforms your colorful desktop into a monotone and desolate "desert," creating a screensaver with a somewhat poetic ambiance.

Interesting concept! I like the look of the visual effect, too. Fun to see something as simple as layering different levels of noise being used to reflect advanced feelings... The name "Fuumon" is mostly likely a combination of the words "Fuu" for wind and "Mon" for pattern.

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Galaxy

Not much is said about this one in the readme apart from it mentioning it might be fun if you tried to change the background, logo or characters into new sprites yourself. A nice idea! I think that's the whole premise of this screensaver actually - getting you to kind of make your own space shooter "game".

The scrolling text in the screensaver itself says:

The year 1999 AD... An unprecedented crisis has befallen Earth.
A mysterious being descended from space, the evil king Nagucha, repeatedly wrought destruction and slaughter.

...But among them, there was a young man who stood up from the East.
His name is NC30!
Those who saw his figure said this:
"Save the world!"

Programmer: NC30
Sound Creator: NC30 (also known as ナイちって)
Music Composer: NC30 (also known as これもナイちって)
Graphic Design: KAWASAKI

Produced and planned by NC30 (This message can be changed.)

Really good... I actually don't want to change this placeholder text at all, thank you.

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Screen Split Lite

Thank you for downloading the "Screen Split Lite" screensaver. This screensaver is created using Visual Basic 4.0. The previously uploaded "Screen Split" was too heavy due to the settings, so this version is lighter and runs smoothly even on DX4 machines.

Recently, there are more screensavers that display long, enjoyable works. This one, however, randomly replaces the current screen with another one. It's a simple screensaver that divides the screen into small sections and replaces them randomly. It's also possible to change the number of divisions, change the gradation, and other settings.

Pretty much exactly as described! I love to see it, but I hate actually doing slide puzzles, so I won't watch it for too long in case I start having to think about solving it.

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Gokuf

This software is a screensaver that creates a colorful and mysterious space with full-color rendering. Please enjoy trying out various settings.

If you were wondering when "weirdly realistic but gummy-looking programmatic worms" were going to show up, this is when:

Unsettling! But then again, this is what's actually inside a computer, so it does make sense as a screensaver.

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Goroneko / Lounging Cat

Thank you for downloading. The "Goroneko Screensaver" is a simple yet very cute screensaver that displays a picture of a sleeping cat.

Pretty good stuff!! By the way, the title "Goroneko" is a combination of Goro (lounging around) and Neko (cat).

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Hiyoko / Baby Chick

This is a simple and charming screensaver.
The playful chick will probably make you smile.

It did make me smile! It made me smile a lot!! It's probably one of the higher ranking screensavers. Thank you for your hard work.

By the way, maybe now is a good time to mention that my Windows 98 install I was installing all of these on was getting noticeably slower with each screensaver. Interesting! But worth the price.

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Hosi

A screensaver where three-dimensional stars gently fall down.

Yeah!! I love this one turned up to maximum stars. Feels like I'm getting a prize every time the screensaver kicks in! I do love to see simple 3D shapes on a computer.

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Hotaru

Thank you for downloading.
This program is exclusively for Windows 95.
If you see lots of fireflies flying around the screen, we believe you will be satisfied.

About Genji Fireflies and Heike Fireflies:

Genji fireflies and Heike fireflies live in Japan for about half a year and grow to avoid the rain.
Their growth period is about 1 week to 2 weeks.

Firefly larvae eat river snails and move upstream.
The adult fireflies light up to find mates.
The fireflies' flashing is beautiful and a natural wonder.

Wow, even more animal facts from screensaver readme files! I'm so glad... Looking through these screensavers is so much fun because I have no idea what to expect next, which is a running theme for everything on the 1000 Utilities CD. So good!

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Ikisaki

There wasn't any additional information about this one, but it seems pretty obvious. It's for leaving a message on your screen for when you leave your computer at work!

The options are:

社長室 (Shachou-shitsu) - President's Office
総務部 (Soumu-bu) - General Affairs Department
経理部 (Keiri-bu) - Accounting Department
営業部 (Eigyou-bu) - Sales Department
技術部 (Gijutsu-bu) - Technical Department
会議室 (Kaigi-shitsu) - Conference Room
応接室 (Ousetsu-shitsu) - Reception Room
食事中 (Shokuji-chuu) - In the Middle of a Meal
ティータイム (Tii-taimu) - Tea Time
お手洗い (Otearai) - Bathroom

I chose bathroom, but I think President's Office would be funny for using for the same reason as bathroom also.

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Iwatasuki

This is a screensaver using characters from the shooting game "FWING LIB 9" (publicly released).
Please visit my website for more details on "FWING LIB 9" and other projects.

Sure, put the screensaver someone made for their game on the 1000 Utilities disk! Why not? It's got cool 3D graphics!

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Koala's Balloon Continent

Thank you for downloading "Koala's Balloon Continent."

This software features a cute koala riding a hot air balloon, traveling around the Australian continent as a screensaver.

Experience the beauty and excitement of Australia, whether you have been there or not.

Please enjoy "Koala's Balloon Continent" to your heart's content.

I hope you're ready for a bunch of these koala screensavers in a row! Please enjoy (to your heart's content).

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Koala's Romance Lift

Thank you for downloading "Koala's Romance Lift."

These koalas have it all... Cursive rainbow gradient text, snow particles, beautiful trees...

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Koala's Balloon Continent 2 V2.0

We've had the classic settings of "traveling across Australia by hot air balloon" and "romantic ski holiday", what else should koalas do?

Have a bunch of them jump out of a plane! Smart, smart. I actually really like the way they wiggle down the screen.

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Cleaning Koala Screensaver

This software is a charming screensaver.
The koala will clean up your desktop. Depending on the settings, the koala can also pick up trash and clean it away. This koala is very diligent and will clean up everything neatly.

Really good and cute!! There are some good voiced lines at the start and end of this one, too.

By the way, these are all credited as being made by "Koala's relative".

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Koala's Space Travel

Yes! Put those koalas in space!! It's the only thing left to do...

They're So Far away from the spaceship when they're just sin wave wiggling around in open space... Honestly? Dangerous and irresponsible.

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Koala's Clock Shop

This software is a screensaver where the koala runs a clock shop.
Various clocks are displayed, indicating the current time.
The koala moves around the screen, displaying different clocks, including alarm clocks, wall clocks, and others.
The way the koala moves the clocks around is very charming and cute.

The last of the koala screensavers! This one has some cute sounds too, so make sure you watch with sound. I guess they retired from their travels and settled down to run a clock shop... Good for them.

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Kcube

3D objects rotate and move around the screen.
You can attach bitmap files to the 3D objects.
It supports light processing.

The three sentences everyone loves to hear!

I didn't have any images on my Windows install, so I quickly grabbed a screenshot of the girl from Popsnake 95, a game from my previously covered WINDOWS 95 POWER UP PACK. It's nice to see her again! As a spinning, 3D cube.

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Mac

This screensaver emulates the experience of using a MAC on Windows.

I have opened a homepage for "MACになりたい." I will continue to provide information on how to make Windows more MAC-like, so please visit it.
URL: http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA008591/index.html

There is a data collection for "MACになりたい スクリーンセーバー Ver.3.0.0" on the homepage. Please visit the same [MacI.htm] page for more details.

WOW, the website is still up! Like, actually running and being hosted somewhere, and you can look at it without using the Wayback Machine! I'll let you guys have a look, it's pretty good...

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Escape from Mandel

This one is an interesting one...! There's a lot to read about, so let's take a look. Feel free to skim, there are so many words here for a screensaver, but I wanted to include them all because it's very unique.


Escape from Mandel Prologue

In that world, there are also seasons. The trees of flames, which decorate the desolate landscape with color, change their appearance with the seasons and eventually burn out, leaving only ashes and blue smoke.

The changing seasons in that world are not dictated by the movement of celestial bodies (such as the sun and moon) but by the movement of the burning forests. These changes are very slow, and the animals in that world are generally unaware of them, continuing their lives according to their fixed daily patterns. This movement is believed to be a long-forgotten memory from an ancient era when that world was just beginning.

The flames have a cycle of once every few human lifetimes, with a peak and a trough every two cycles. When the cycle reaches its peak, the flames intensify, burning brighter and bluer. As the flames fade, ashes fall, and stars emerge in the sky, marking the transition to a new season, and welcoming the season of greatest stillness and tranquillity.

(Excerpt)

When the flames begin to fade, and the Etsukaru trees turn to ashes, the entire world of flames becomes visible. The flames of the Etsukaru trees represent the life of the entire world, and their extinction marks the end of a season. The next season begins with the sprouting of new Etsukaru trees. The world of flames is constantly reborn through this cycle, with the life and death of the trees intertwined in an eternal dance.

---Excerpt from "Etsukaru Trees and Flames (From Inside to Outside)" by Mandel Sightseeing Company, within "Mandel Sightseeing Guide."

Hints for Escaping from Mandel

By escaping from Mandel, you can explore the mysterious world of the Mandelbrot set and its wonders.

Mysterious Zoom Out
By zooming out of the Mandelbrot set up to 1,000,000 times and then continuously zooming in up to 100,000 times, you will experience an incredible journey, exploring the depths of this mysterious world.

Exquisite Palette Animation
When displayed in 256-color mode, palette animation is possible. The combination of seamless zooming and palette animation brings you an extraordinary visual experience.

Four Levels of Escape Speed
You can set the escape speed at four levels: low, medium, high, and maximum.

Various Events After Space Escape
After escaping into space, you'll encounter numerous events such as battles with giant starships and hidden events, making the experience rich and diverse.

14 Secret Launch Points of the Strictly Selected Premium Rocket
You can choose from 14 secret launch points for the premium rocket, ensuring an adventurous journey every time.

Preset Palettes
Each location has a preset palette with three mystical colors. The palette enhances the overall experience, making each launch and journey visually appealing.

User-Defined Easy Launch Points & Palettes
You can easily set launch points and palettes by clicking the start coordinates, start magnification, and other settings with a mouse. Additionally, you can directly input coordinates and magnification values for more precise settings. With the Mandel Universal Palette Editor, users can easily edit the palette.

MIDI BGM
You can play randomly selected MIDI BGM. The names of the performance files will be displayed. It can randomly play all pieces within a single cycle.

Various Random Display
The launch point, start magnification, animation palette, and 20 animation combinations can be freely assembled. This creates a new journey every time, making it a completely different experience. All courses within a single cycle are executed randomly, allowing for infinite pattern display.

Password with Timer
Even if the screensaver is interrupted, it will automatically return based on the timer.

Windows 95 Native Support
It supports screen display in the Control Panel and password protection. (It does not work with Windows 3.1.)

Okay...! Phew! Let's actually see the screensaver now!

I uploaded about 25 mins of this screensaver looping a few times on YouTube here:


It's a pretty interesting effect! It's fun to slowly have the "horizon" expand and see a generated world... It's also fun to see someone go so hard on the Lore for their screensaver, and treat it as an art form they can do some storytelling with. Screensavers...! Really cool stuff.

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Kaleidoscope

This screensaver creates a screen that looks like the kaleidoscope you admired on your desktop. It takes a portion of your desktop, cuts it into triangular shapes, and spreads them across the entire screen in a tiled pattern. These triangular shapes rotate, and with them, the screen's content changes continuously.

While this is simply a recreation of a kaleidoscope, it brings back the nostalgic wonder of the toy from the past.

Alright, back to something easier to digest. That's a kaleidoscope screensaver.

Nice!

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Mermaid

Thank you for downloading the "Coral and Mermaid" screensaver for Windows 95.

This screensaver features beautiful underwater scenes of coral reefs and girls swimming in mermaid and swimsuit costumes.

When the screensaver starts, the beautiful and mysterious scenery of the coral reef scrolls across the screen. Various beautiful girls swim around. There might be hidden mermaids, so look for them... Additionally, you might see different girls swimming around each time.

Please enjoy it according to your preferences.

I love "please enjoy it according to your preferences" here. Hopefully your preferences fall within the three options of Memaid, One-piece Swimsuit and Bikini Swimsuit, as listed in this screensaver's settings. And they should.

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MNH Beautiful Girl Undressing Screensaver

Thank you for downloading.
The "MNH Beautiful Girl Undressing Screensaver 1" is a playful screensaver that displays an image of a beautiful girl undressing at regular intervals (^^;
Please note that this is intended for fun and does not actually undress.

My head is starting to spin from bouncing around the various screensaver types of "detailed mathematical formula", "animal facts", "koalas in various situations", and "screensavers where girls appear and take off their clothes".

Oh, Online Software Volume 2 - 1000 Utilities! You are crazy to try and look through and categorize in any way <3

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Nbody

This screensaver simulates the movement of specified celestial bodies. The celestial bodies move according to Newton's laws of motion, mutually attracting each other. The motion is numerically solved using classical Runge-Kutta methods.

I didn't realize that's what this one was before I checked the readme! I just though it was cool balls. I guess it still is cool balls! But there's secret, complicated, celestial maths going on in there too.

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Nezumimo

A clock where a mouse is pounding rice cakes while jumping around.
It is very simple but has some features.
Why is a mouse doing this? ... Well, there is no particular meaning.

Really good!!! So, so smart. Make sure to watch when the minute changes and the mouse gets hit with a hammer.

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Ohta-chan's Screensaver Vol.1

A colleague at work, Ohta-chan, drew some cute pictures during her spare time. I thought they were adorable and decided to turn them into a screensaver. Surprisingly, all the pictures she drew with her mouse for the first time after giving birth are pandas. How skillful is she?!

The bitmaps displayed are:
Cute, handwritten pandas
Sexy female images (a little sexy)
Randomly displayed (set to show pandas 80% of the time)

You can choose from these three options.

Oh my god! I didn't see that this screensaver also includes "Sexy female images (a little sexy)" when I recorded them all! I only have footage of "Cute, handwritten pandas"!

I don't want to go back and record more footage of this screensaver because, for some reason, it runs really, really slow and causes the computer to lock up after it. I don't know why! Probably normal reasons!!

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Oppai Purupuru

This screensaver is a joke software that makes the entire screen transform into a woman's chest and bounces. The background of the screen is designed to look like the fabric of a T-shirt. Please enjoy it with the thought, "It's embarrassing to look at it in front of others."

Ahh, the classic joke of a woman's chest! I get it!!

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Patsaver

Fluffy and Scud missiles (?) will fall from the sky. In response, Patriot missiles will fly from the ground to intercept them. Enjoy watching this scene. It's simple but quite refreshing (up to 256 colors).

This is based on the missile interception game "Patriot" ver2.21 from FWING LIB 90. I've changed the characters since the original alphabet characters felt bland.

What else needs to be said? Fluffy and Scud missiles (?) will fall from the sky. Don't make me repeat myself.

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Phew! Well, that was a look at 40 different screensavers from the previously covered CD, Online Software Volume 2 - 1000 Utilities. Check out that article if you want to download the contents of the CD for yourself. I have to stop looking at and writing about screensavers now. I hope you had fun - thanks for reading!