Backgrounds 1.1

Backgrounds is a desktop appearance optimization tool. It is designed for Mac users who want to make the backgrounds of their computer screens more attractive, stylish, and dynamic.

This can be done by adding brand new features and helpful widgets to your screen to achieve an exquisite and original desktop appearance.

The program doesn't have a defined interface. Once the tool is installed, you will find its icon integrated into the Mac's upper toolbar. It will stay right there at hand, so that you can have access to the tool's menu at a go. The program comes with five different themes for the background.

With most similar programs, changing the desktop appearance consists mainly of setting more or less beautiful and animated wallpapers. What's interesting about this tool is that it makes use of your computer running apps, system information, time-related features, and default wallpaper to confer elegance and distinction to your desktop. For instance, the Parallax theme gives you the impression of depth and distance when you look at your desktop wallpaper. All you need to do is hover the mouse over your preset image background, and the picture will flip smoothly on its axis, creating the sensation of gentle spatial motion. In addition, you can set the program to change the wallpaper image at given time intervals. Yet, you can't select just any image folder on your computer as a source for regular background changes – you need to store them in the Pictures folder, since it is the only location supported by the app when running the task.

Another nice feature was designed for music lovers. If you listen to audio tracks while working, then you might want to try the iTunes theme. This way, you will know at any moment who is the performing artist and which is the title of the playing song without needing to go to iTunes every time to retrieve that information. Instead, you will see the track's tagged info displayed on your desktop in a customized appearance and at a determined position. The Video loop function is the video-based replica of the iTunes theme. With this feature you are enabled to substitute your static image screen with a playing video. In other words, the classic picture wallpaper is replaced by dynamic movie scenes that you can watch while running other computer processes.

Less spectacular, but still handy for computer users, are the System and the Time themes. The first displays both the download and the upload speeds, together with the information regarding the CPU performance, while the second one shows the date. Both widgets are customizable in terms of position on the screen, transparency, and color, and they can appear either individually on the desktop, or along with the iTunes, Parallax, and Video loop themes.

In short, I was pleased with the program features, mainly with the ability to set a movie or a video clip as wallpaper, which you can watch while working at your computer. The System theme is also of great help as it allows you to monitor the system's performance in real time. Personally, I would have liked it to provide additional information regarding the RAM memory usage. Overall, the app creates a nice visual impression, since it refreshes your desktop and makes it more attractive. Plus, the ratio between price and provided features is more than fair. However, as any other desktop-related app, Backgrounds is a rather high computer resource consumer. If your computer system is not powerful enough, you shall better not install such a tool.