Browsing around with gconf-editor I noticed that there are 2 keys called idle_delay. On of them is /apps/gnome-screensaver/idle_delay and the other is /desktop/gnome/session/idle_delay. It is the latter one that is changed when moving the slider labeled "regard computer as idle after:" in the screensaver prefs GUI. Changing the other value with gconf-editor seems to help the problem but it still seems kind of hit or miss.
Browsing around with gconf-editor I noticed that there are 2 keys called idle_delay. On of them is /apps/gnome- screensaver/ idle_delay and the other is /desktop/ gnome/session/ idle_delay. It is the latter one that is changed when moving the slider labeled "regard computer as idle after:" in the screensaver prefs GUI. Changing the other value with gconf-editor seems to help the problem but it still seems kind of hit or miss.