June 21st 2003 | John Dalziel

Review: SWF Desktop - interactive wallpaper

Convert your Flash MX or Swish .SWF files into interactive desktop wallpaper with the help of SWF Desktop from ScreenTime Media.

What is it? Turn your Flash files into desktop wallpaper
Manufacturer: ScreenTime Media
Platforms: Windows 95 or later
Price:
Personal edition: $39.95 (introductory price $19.95)
Professional edition: $149.95 (introductory price $99.95)

Have you ever thought about using Microsofts Active Desktop to embed Flash applications onto your desktop? It seems like a great idea until you try it. If you pull up the Display Properites dialog youll notice it has a web tab. On this tab you can set an HTML file as your desktop background. Sounds fine until you realise that your page floats around like a window and even if you force it to be full screen you still have a browser menu bar along the top. In short the results arent very satisfying.

ScreenTime Media must have been thinking along the same lines as they have taken the idea of Flash on the desktop and in their words supercharged it.

The interface really couldnt be simpler. You drag your .swf file onto the SWF Desktop application then you export a desktop installer. Thats it! Well, that really isnt it, as there are a wealth of other configurable bells and whistles but if you accept the defaults you can have your Flash file running in your desktop in under a minute.

So what about those bells and whistles then? Well you can set all the usual Flash scaling and alignment properties. You can set the Desktop preview image, installer icon, and bundle a licence and readme file. You can even add a custom Flash movie or a graphic for the installer program.

Undoubtedly though the power is in the possibilities of an MX application on the desktop. Flash player 6 is fully supported so you can consume web services, feed dynamic content, pull news feeds, run calendars, Comm server chat apps or whatever the hell you like right in your desktop. Thats pretty cool.

On the cautious side I had two concerns. Theres definitely going to be some processor hit. Flash can be slow at the best of times and running a movie at full screen, youre asking for all you get. I didnt run into any real problems on a 700Mhz laptop but its something to be conscious of during the design. Keep it light.

My other worry is usability. Its one thing having all this power on the desktop, but you dont want it to interfere with the users usual routine. ScreenTime are aware of this and have included some obvious usability pointers to get you thinking.

From a marketing perspective the users desktop is the most precious real estate you can have - better even than the coveted home page bookmark. This certainly isnt lost on moviemakers who already make heavy use of the companys other major product, the ScreenTime Screensaver creation tool.

Its a powerful idea and a lot of fun to play with, but the onus will be on the developer to build something that is fit for the desktop environment. Although the versatility of Flash seems to know no bounds, the success or failure of interactive desktops will come down to the developers attention to usability.

Check it out