I ran into an issue running an Android birdwatching application, whoBIRD, which runs continuously, but only while in the foreground – locking the screen or switching applications inhibits it. Considering the UI is not (AM)OLED-safe, only sporting a high contrast mode that still has static UI elements always on screen, I don’t like having the screen on all the time, when there’s often nothing to look at.
No screen timeout?
Install mce-tools using pkcon install mce-tools, then use this command to enable display always on:
mcetool -P -j enabled --set-blank-prevent-mode=keep-on
Use this to disable:
mcetool -v -j disabled
qCommand makes it easy to execute from a list of commands or as an application menu shortcut.
On Android, there is FakeStandby, which solves this issue by displaying an overlay without inhibiting the foreground application, letting 'er rip without ever causing screen burn-in and being easy to toggle. Since the birdwatching application does create notifications upon activity (bird call detected), there is still a way to see live activity, and it saves history, so an approach like this could work here.
On SFOS, there is Nightish, itself a full-screen overlay, which looks like a very straightforward starting point for something like this. However, occasionally, I ran into a situation where the overlay stayed active despite the application being closed, so for complete screen blanking, it could be a bit scary.
Also, activation by means of privacy switch (JP2), top menu, an overlay or such would be necessary, as there’s obviously no way to see what’s happening once it activates.
Note, I only specified a birdwatching application as an example, there are many other cases where this could be useful. Besides, I’m not birdwatcher myself, I just think using it makes touching grass more fun ;D