Spews – Review

very good
key review info
application features
  • Automatically change desktop wallpaper
  • (3 more, see all...)

For many users, the desktop area in Windows is not just a screen that allows quick access to different programs and files that are used on a frequent basis, it is also a place to show off their personality by planting the coolest wallpapers they can find.

Even if changing the background can be done by simply right-clicking on the desired picture and choosing the option from there, automating the entire procedure definitely produces an increase in comfort.

Windows does come with such an option through the Personalization applet, which allows adding a set of images for the desktop and switching it at a user-set time interval. However, it is not as flexible as most users would like it to be.

Spews is a very simple tool, too simple according to some standards, that allows you to add as many image folders as you want and have them paraded on the desktop with a specific frequency.

It does not require installation, as the developer provides it as a portable download; extracting the contents of the 600KB archive and running the application is enough to access the interface.

Before the first launch, only the executable file and a text containing the changelog of Spews development are present. Using the application will create a configuration file, an entry with the paths to the images it has to spin on the desktop, and a folder containing the current background picture.

Looks are at the far end of extravagance, with a single window to hold all the options and functions Spews has to offer. The most part of the interface is occupied by the list of image folders that are added to the application.

It appears that there is no limit to the amount of directories or images Spews can handle. We added more than ten locations, some of them containing sub-folders, and the program made no objection.

Adding multiple paths does not necessarily mean that the application has to go through all the pictures, because it offers the possibility to disable the ones you do not want to be processed.

You should not spend more than half a minute with the configuration options available in the program screen because the list is quite short. There are settings for making Spews start with the operating system in a minimized state as well as for making it minimize to the system tray even when the “close” button is pressed.

Just like in the case of the Personalization applet in Windows, there are options relating to the display of the wallpaper: scaled, stretched, or centered.

If the image is too small to fit the whole screen, there is the possibility to define a filling color for the blank space.

Different from the solution in Microsoft’s operating system is the option to change the frequency for rotating the pics not only in minutes, but also in seconds (100 is the top threshold) or hours. Also, there is the possibility to change the wallpaper every time the computer starts.

As far as resource usage is concerned, Spews is nothing to worry about. In idle state it requires a little under 5MB to function, while CPU usage only spiked when the photo on the desktop was replaced; we noticed that on our Core2Duo 2GHz system the increase would sometimes reach 36%, but it would be for just a second.

Spews may be a simple wallpaper changer, but it also allows defining processes that would stop its activity. Watching movies or playing games are only two of the scenarios that fit the purpose of this feature, as there is no need to change the background picture if the effect is not visible.

On the downside, there is no way to shuffle the playlist and all files seem to be displayed in the exact order they are stored in the directories. As such, the element of surprise is completely eliminated if the list is not rich enough.

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The Good

There is no need to install the application. Configuring it should not take more than half a minute.

It allows setting the change frequency to as low as one second and you can add as many photo folders as you want. Its activity can stop automatically when specific processes are running.

The Bad

A larger set of features would be appreciated. Displaying the images at random, rating them, or defining some priorities are just a few of the options that would increase its popularity.

The Truth

Spews was created as a simple alternative, with slightly more options than what’s available in the default solution provided by Windows.

There are no complicated settings to tinker with and it can run in the background. However, the lack of more options might pull users away from it.

user interface 3
features 3
ease of use 5
pricing / value 3


final rating 4
Editor's review
very good