> >  > I require a third opion:   You can
read the screen.
  > >  > I am not a fan of tiny fonts, reading glasses is a must for me. 
Mac users can always use glterminal for kicks :-)
http://ldopa.net/2006/01/14/glterminal/
On linux & friends, if you have certain bits of xscreensaver installed, try
/usr/lib/xscreensaver/phosphor -program bash -scale 2 -delay 1
(I think there is a way to do this with the apple2 screensaver as well...)
Joe.