animation

Desktop Icon Toy is a fun and useful utility that allows users to customize the display of their desktop icons. The program combines a variety of features in an easy-to-use format.

The program's interface consists of a slide-out menu that's accessed from the system tray, with the program's features neatly arranged within. The online Help file doesn't go into much detail about the program's features, but most of them are fairly self-explanatory, and users should be able to quickly figure them out. The less obvious features have tool-tip explanations that describe their functions. The program … Read more

Icon Craft allows users to create custom icons and cursors. Although the program has a good selection of features and is fairly easy to use, it has some functional problems that make it frustrating and ineffective.

The program's interface is somewhat similar to that of Microsoft Paint, although the icons are stylized and it's not always obvious what they are. Fortunately, tooltips display a description for each one. The workspace is clean and generally well-organized, and users should get used to the program's layout and functions pretty quickly. The built-in Help file contains a detailed description of … Read more

Enviro-Bear 2010 is part game, part joke, part art piece, and part game-design experiment, but it's also a bold and ridiculous app that's basically a Rorschach test for gamers. Unlike any other game, Enviro-Bear 2010 challenges you to play as a bear driving a car who's trying to run over and then scarf up enough food to hibernate in the last 5 minutes before winter.

Whether you love or hate Enviro-Bear 2010, a couple of things are certain: the interface is deliberately difficult (reflecting, one might suppose, the difficulty a real bear would experience driving a car) … Read more

A few years back in 2003, when the new Matrix movies were debuting, Warner Bros. also released a straight-to-video compilation of animated short stories based in the Matrix universe called "The Animatrix."

Each segment was produced by a different Japanese anime studio, and there were actually some pretty cool takes on the Matrix that emerged from this project. More recently, WB did the same thing with "Batman: Gotham Knight."

Now, WB is teaming up with Microsoft to do the same thing with the Halo universe. This fall they plan to release "Halo: Legends," a … Read more

Those who complain about there not being enough good original Wii games had better put up or shut up this week. Yes, there's a certain game called Wii Sports Resort that's about to hit store shelves, but we're not talking about that one. Indie game publisher XSeed has been slowly gaining a reputation for releasing weird and risky import titles to the U.S. (the DS cult hit Retro Game Challenge being one of them), and this week they've brought the Wii perhaps its finest genre-blending game: Little King's Story.

We won't pretend, based … Read more

African Animals Screensaver, as you might expect, displays photos of African animals and plays built-in music. This sounds nice in theory, but with minimal effort you could probably create a better version of it yourself.

The screensaver's interface is obvious enough and contains the typical screensaver options; users shouldn't have much trouble figuring it out. Those who do need assistance can access a brief Help file in text file format, but there's really not much to either the program or the Help file. The meat of this program is the photos of African animals and three "… Read more

Picture Collage Maker offers users several options for using their photographs in creative ways. While offering much more than simple collages, this program's cluttered interface will take some getting used to.

That interface is a patchwork of command icons and a puzzle of screens for templates, photos, and the main collage. Novice users will want to take a long, hard look at the Help file and more-experienced users will want to set aside several minutes to experiment and play with all the buttons before attempting anything serious. This is not a program one simply jumps into. Users are given … Read more

MBSS Starfields is a stunning program featuring beautiful swirls of colors at your command. However, that command may require a mathematics degree to master. Regardless, it quickly pretties up a display.

The program's interface is regrettably complicated, but does not really need to be dealt with too deeply. The actual screensaver has default settings that should be good enough for most users. Digging deeper to make adjustments, though, is a confusing tangle of geometric and mathematical terminology that will have a limited appeal. The Help file actually does a better job of explaining the scientific principals this program works … Read more

MBSS Gravity Wells uses space-aged thinking to create a screensaver. While it looks gorgeous, there are some complicated elements that may scare off some users.

The program's interface is two-fold. Anyone happy with the default settings will simply enjoy the images on the screen. However, attempting to adjust the settings will discover a world of gravitational and geometric jargon that will confuse. Fortunately, experimenting won't hurt a thing. However, the Help file doesn't provide much insight. The images Gravity Wells produces are fascinating geometric shapes that utilize the entire color wheel. Users interested in changing the patterns … Read more