The macosxhints Rating:
[Score: 9 out of 10]
- Developer: Skyrocket Software / Product page
- Price: Free / $5.00+ / $15.00
This PotW was supposed to run in early July, around the USA's July 4th birthday party. But then I got caught up in Macworld travel, and kinda forgot about it. So here it is, late from its original target date, and late even within the week.
Digital FireWorX is an electronic fireworks show, as you can see in the shot at left (Click here to watch a short SnapzPro movie of the program in action -- reduced from the 640x480 original to save a bit of bandwidth). It includes both a screensaver module as well as a standalone application. Using the standalone app, you can create your own shows, complete with background images and sound -- you specify which fireworks go off where on the screen, and in what sequence. You can also just do a 'live' show, clicking the mouse to launch random fireworks into the sky. There's also a screensaver module with a number of additional options regarding flares, trails, etc. With the live program, you can create shows of any size, from 640x480 up to the screen resolution. The screensaver will run across multiple screens, too -- if you're lucky enough to be running two 30" Cinema Displays, it should be quite impressive.
The pricing options for Digital FireworX are somewhat unique, and fitting for a program of such non-mission-critical stature. You can use it for free with five standard fireworks; you can purchase it for $5.00, which then allows you to buy additional fireworks effects in packages for $5.00 each, or you can buy the program with all the effects packages bundled in for $15.00. For now, I've been happy to use it for free, but some of the additional effects are quite nice, so I may spring for the $15.00.
Not a world changer, by far, but a fun way to pass a few minutes of free time (and annoy your cubicle neighbors if you crank the sound and then leave with the screensaver running and locked ... but you didn't hear that from me!).

