dlooch

The idea of this widget is a very good one, so props to the developer for that. Now, as to execution... The developer says it doesn't use much in the way of CPU and memory. Well, I guess that depends on how you define that. In my view, the claim is false. I'm on the last iteration of the iBook G4 1.33Ghz, and the dCMIX never falls below 20% CPU use, most of the time hovering around 40%-50%, with transient spikes to 75%. I have also encountered several instances of stuttering. Memory use is indeed modest (52MB of Real Memory). Re: the ambient sounds. I didn't expect enoesque level of performance, but what we have here is a bit substandard under even generous criteria. The idea of ambient music/sounds is that they affect you, but don't call attention to themselves - they are background not foreground. The problem on one of the channels - "drones" - is that the volume ranges from so low that you can't hear it (at full volume) to too loud (which is distracting). The quality of the sounds generated on "wavey" is poor - lacking in any depth. The sound of "windytree" is obnoxious - just a bad choice. Combo is OK, though often unpleasant on account of "windytree" sounds being in the mix. The best by far is "subtle" which is actually quite enjoyable. The final problem is that there seems to be too little variation, or rather somehow the quality of the compositions can't sustain interest over the long run - I'm afraid it gets boring very quickly (by contrast, something seemingly very narrow, like neroli, never gets boring). I'll keep it a bit longer - several days - to really give it a fair chance, but so far, I'm not extremely impressed. Bottom line, great idea, but only a 3 out of 5 stars for execution.

I like it! I can't wait to see how future versions progress.

Cool program - but U-G-L-Y. I haven't seen text that wasn't anti-aliased in a long time.

The idea of this widget is a very good one, so props to the developer for that. Now, as to execution... The developer says it doesn't use much in the way of CPU and memory. Well, I guess that depends on how you define that. In my view, the claim is false. I'm on the last iteration of the iBook G4 1.33Ghz, and the dCMIX never falls below 20% CPU use, most of the time hovering around 40%-50%, with transient spikes to 75%. I have also encountered several instances of stuttering. Memory use is indeed modest (52MB of Real Memory). Re: the ambient sounds. I didn't expect enoesque level of performance, but what we have here is a bit substandard under even generous criteria. The idea of ambient music/sounds is that they affect you, but don't call attention to themselves - they are background not foreground. The problem on one of the channels - "drones" - is that the volume ranges from so low that you can't hear it (at full volume) to too loud (which is distracting). The quality of the sounds generated on "wavey" is poor - lacking in any depth. The sound of "windytree" is obnoxious - just a bad choice. Combo is OK, though often unpleasant on account of "windytree" sounds being in the mix. The best by far is "subtle" which is actually quite enjoyable. The final problem is that there seems to be too little variation, or rather somehow the quality of the compositions can't sustain interest over the long run - I'm afraid it gets boring very quickly (by contrast, something seemingly very narrow, like neroli, never gets boring). I'll keep it a bit longer - several days - to really give it a fair chance, but so far, I'm not extremely impressed. Bottom line, great idea, but only a 3 out of 5 stars for execution.