[Solved] Daemon on Windows with updating display

[BigChimp]

Perhaps opening a new thread asking for (help with) a demo Lazarus implementation of a Credential Provider.

Who knows, there might be some people interested in such a project...

Edit: the reason I suggest this is because the thread title doesn't really cover the requirements and it's getting a bit long.

[avra]

I'd like to write a computer booking application. It should run on Windows startup (that is,  before the user logs on) and read the PC status from a remote database. It needs to show the status in a banner on screen before logon and in a taskbar icon afterwards.

If you get stuck providing a software only solution, alternative could be to write a service that will gather data and display info on additional LCD display. If you know some basic electronics then look for HD44780 displays and ways to interface them to PC via LPT (directly) or USB port (with AVR microcontrollers using V-USB or LUFA libraries). If you are bad with electronics then you can use some serial display (text only or graphics). Simpler then that can be to put some cheap 5" Android tablet and provide needed info on that display. Also, if some HDMI or CVBS display is available then you can use Raspberry Pi for the same purpose.

[TyneBridges]

Thanks for all the hints. I'm not wedded to doing anything that breaks the rules, just looking for a method within my capabilities. The screen saver suggestion is definitely worth investigating so, as people seem to be getting weary of the thread, I will leave it here and mark it Solved.

[taazz]

I personally do not get weary, every problem has documented and undocumented solutions, the undocumented solutions have higher possibility of failure and they are more prone to stop working in the future even from the simplest update. What makes me wandering on this thread is
1) a lack of confidence on your skills
2) a lack of will to learn.
That makes me extremely skeptical and that skepticism I tried to express although re reading my posts today it seems I chose a very poor way on doing so. I feel the need to apologize so if I was out of line for any reason I'm sorry.