[ale] linux screen saver

[jheim at math.wisc.edu (John G. Heim)]

I cannot figure out how to get a linux screen saver to start at the gnome 
login prompt.

We rundebian linux and I've discovered that by default, it turns on a screen 
saver that requires the user to re-enter a password if the console is idle 
long enough. But I need the screen to go blank if nobody logs in for 5 or 10 
minutes. Googling showed me lots of ways to configure a screen saver for a 
user but that' means it would work only after a user logs in.

I'm sorry I'm kind of ignorant of gnome & gdm. I'm blind and I have only 
used the GUI a few times. I'm trying to learn how to use it with the new-ish 
screen reader for gnome, orca. But I have a long way to go.