!!!WOW!!! I would gladly hack this review software just to give this clock ver. 1.3.1 (3) SIX stars and a heart IF only the chimes and bongs worked properly. At 6 PM I get two quarter chimes and six bongs, 6:15 PM silence, 6:30 PM no chimes - one bong, 6:45 PM silence, 7 PM two quarter chimes - seven bongs, 7:15 PM silence, 7:30 PM one bong, 7:45 PM silence, 8 PM two quarter chimes - eight bongs. Oh, I see a pattern here but not a Big Ben pattern. As a simple workaround I set the “No sound” option in this app and then installed Clock Chimes app (no graphics just Westminister chimes/bongs) to run in the background - they sync beautifully together but I much prefer the Big Ben chimes/bongs sounds in this app.UPDATE: MY MISTAKE. Because the chimes sound just like the Big Ben bells, I expected the Big Ben patterns of bell strikes like most grandfather clocks also have. 3Planesoft support just responded to let me know that my Mechanical Clock 3D chime patterns are actually working as designed (a pattern I have never heard before) and have little to do with Big Ben.

While this app afforded me the opportunity to clear a desk clock from my workspace, part of the reason I purchased the full version was to get a fully functional (per Mac OS standards) screensaver. Unfortunately, this program does not integrate into the System Prefences portion of the OS with the screen saver options. It is a stand alone product and the only way you can get the sceen saver aspect of it to ‘come on’ is to click on the icon, and then click on the ‘turn on screen saver’ option OR wait until the preset time of idelness to have it start. Within the OS, scsreen savers can be turned on by keyboard shortcuts and ‘hot corners’, which make it a breeze to use whenever one chooses. I’ve recently asked the app company to consider integrating a keyboard shortcut into the program. Also, the desktop component also does not integrate with System Preferences. It can only be turned on by opening the app. It cannot be used as a default desktop (it over rides the systems desktop. Besides this limitation, it is an absolutely beautiful desktop AND screensaver. I’d purchase again despite limitations, alhtough I’d give it 5 stars if they integrated the app into the OS.

I have been using this clock as the screen saver on my iMac for over a year with no problems. I work from home and after my mantel clock bit the dust, I found that I missed the hourly chimes. This app became a good substitute. Although it does not chime when the computer is in sleep mode, it does chime when I’m working at my home desk. Everyone who pass by my computer always compliments the unique design of the clock, and it makes me keep my desktop clear of clutter so I can see it. It has become my new “mantel” clock. I am thankful that you can turn off the ticking sound. I use the silver version because it matches my iMac.

The clockwork and sounds are stunningly beautiful, and the black background enables seeing my color-organized files strikingly. I previously had used the highest resolution Hubble Deep Field photo, which is mostly black background to gain the same kind of contrast/readability. However, despite the overall beauty of the clockwork, the hands are quite difficult to make out against the gears; perhaps more of each hand should be strongly colored…perhaps all in red, or maybe each hand in a different but elegant color (metallic toned (as when niobium is anodized) shades of red, chartreuse, and cyan/teal, for example). Would look nice, in keeping with the metal tone steampunk aesthetic, and also improve functionality. And/or perhaps a small Nixie tube digital readout placed somewhere within the gears. After all, EVERYONE LOVES Nixie tubes, and they would make quick work of interpreting the baroque, but hard to read analogue hands.