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Video: Realtime smoke effects in OS X burning app Disco

video.google.com — A new burning app called Disco for OS X http://discoapp.com/ Uses a couple amazing features the most noteable, 'smoke' which only the video can do justice. 'Coaster' another where if you move your laptop the sensors will pop up a message saying "Hey stop messing around." Really cool stuff so hope you enjoy. Suffer windows users. :P

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  • h3xley, on 10/12/2007, -29/+12I've got a higher quality in .mov if anyone cares enough to want to host it.
    • ThinkBox, on 10/12/2007, -7/+37I wouldn't call the "smoke" a "feature" rather a visual effect that has nothing to do with the operation of the burning app itself.

      I see features more along the lines of "these are different ways you can burn CDs and here are tools to do it" and less "OOOO look!"

      Function is a feature.
      Like a car's feature might be an anti-rust paint coating, but "Blue" isn't a feature.

      I'm not saying that apps should look cool or be pleasing to the eye, I'm just saying that isn't a feature, per say.

      Also, when im burning a CD, im usually not staring at the app while it burns.. its kinda distracting.
    • jguerry, on 10/12/2007, -14/+5the smoking animation was cool, yes, but it is pointless and if it helps create coasters, well that sucks.

      5 mins to burn! what were you burning? gosh!
    • dignon, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16Well, the smoke is just eye-candy. Cool, sure, but really just a waste of CPU. However, using the motion sensors in the MacBook Pros to detect if you are moving the computer while the disc is being written (which would most likely result in a bad disc) is brilliant!
    • AssProphet, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6@ThinkBox

      I agree with you for the most part, however I can think of grounds for calling the smoke thing a feature. You could look at it as something to play with while waiting for your disc to burn. Like you said "blue" isn't a feature, but the interactive nature of the smoke does provide a function, while not terribly useful, it could be seen as a feature.
    • rasterbator, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3I like how the smoke reacts to the cursor. This might be a little hard to see if you are working between eight apps trying to burn in the background.
      /sarcasm/
    • jonj, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2what's the point?
  • Motobike_man, on 10/12/2007, -16/+9Google didn't work for me, here is the youtube link:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JOFoIESxac
  • chesterton, on 10/12/2007, -16/+7That's pretty cool, but also interesting that they would add a feature to a program that could make it easier to create a coaster. At least they warn you if you fiddle too much.

    Nice example of making use of fit and finish in an app, and also a good example of having a sense of humor in creating the app.
    • gaehl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5The smoke does not increase the chances of creating a coaster the video make was moving his laptop setting of the sudden motion sensor that disco was picking up on and telling the user to stop that.
  • joe90210, on 10/12/2007, -21/+9doesn't work on MacBook, ***** outta here.
    • TomKarpik, on 10/12/2007, -16/+7Yay for anemic "Intel Extreme Graphics".
    • totorototoro, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I find that a bit odd, actually. The GMA950 may suck for 3-D, but its fine for sophisticated 2-D CoreImage effects (the water ripples in Dashboard, etc.) Is the smoke effect 3-D?
    • Overlord, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6The smoke uses floating point textures (if I remember correctly), which a lot of video cards (specifically the intel one) simply doesn't support for some silly reason only intel can answer. I remember they had a more in-depth blog entry on how the smoke works on their website but it's nowhere to be found now. It's too bad because it was a pretty good read too.
  • 5thfreedom, on 10/12/2007, -18/+43I don't have to suffer, I have Nero.
    • merreborn, on 10/12/2007, -11/+47I don't know about y'all, but I judge burning software on how well it burns, not how pretty it is.
    • ayeroxor, on 10/12/2007, -10/+55"I don't know about y'all, but I judge burning software on how well it burns, not how pretty it is."

      You're obviously not a Mac user.




    • MixedSpleens, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12I personally have been using burn http://burn-osx.sourceforge.net/ and so far its great and I didn't have to pay for an app. And I actually can use it on OSX.
    • jeriqo, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3"I don't know about y'all, but I judge burning software on how well it burns, not how pretty it is."

      Because some burn better than others ?
    • OhJay, on 10/12/2007, -5/+10ayeroxor,

      You don't sound like a Mac user either. There's a vast difference between form that enhances function and this meaningless program whose sole raison d'etre seems to be a smoke effect.

      You can have something that is both pretty and functional at the same time.
    • Amplix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4yeah... I didnt digg it because of that last line.
      I love OS X and macs but I believe this does not depict the Mac community's general feeling towards people who prefer other platforms.

      Oh.. about the app... what's wrong with a burn folder??? I cant justify 15 bucks for a little smoke effect.
    • ayeroxor, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1OhJay- "ayeroxor, You don't sound like a Mac user either."

      I'm not.

      "this meaningless program whose sole raison d'etre seems to be a smoke effect."

      So you're against it?

      "You can have something that is both pretty and functional at the same time."

      So you're for it?
  • tabledesk, on 10/12/2007, -13/+27I just dropped 2k on a fully loaded MacBook and it can't generate animated smoke. WTG at making me feel bad, Disco.
    • ahawks, on 10/12/2007, -50/+11Congrats. You bought an overpriced P.O.S.
    • theotherme, on 10/12/2007, -18/+16"I just dropped 2k on a fully loaded MacBook"

      now there's your problem ;)

      even a $400 wal-mart lappy can generate animated smoke, everyone knows that
    • woody56292, on 10/12/2007, -3/+32really, I thought those other laptops were only good at generating real smoke. haha. Zing.
    • MixedSpleens, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12no no, thats real smoke out of the wal-mart laptop, not the generated kind.

      heh, I guess I want the only one who thought that.
    • PathDaemon, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13If you're going to spend $2k, why the hell didn't you get a MacBook Pro?
    • ggko, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4> even a $400 wal-mart lappy can generate animated smoke, everyone knows that

      Flammability is not a feature.

      And those fumes can't be good either.
  • everfalling, on 10/12/2007, -22/+7i love the 'coaster risk' alert. you wouldn't beleive the CD's that die on me because i had something slowing down the reading speeds..
    • jonmlm, on 10/12/2007, -5/+51like smoke in the background?
    • steveng, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20Actually, the burn coaster message was because they moved the laptop; not because on the smoke (what a weird sentence).
  • chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -25/+13The most pointless thing ever created.

    ohhhhh smoke... *****
  • exobyte, on 10/12/2007, -25/+32Ohhh, burn!! We Windows users can't stand not having pretty, CPU wasting eyecandy that adds no functionality.
    • joe90210, on 10/12/2007, -8/+20don't worry man, with WPF, windows developpers will be able to waste as much resources on eye candy as they please.
    • outhouseinput, on 10/12/2007, -22/+9Exactly.

      I prefer my Nero that can burn my media with stability and simplicity, without CPU hogging features that make burning a CD take 5 minutes (as in the video). I don't need some smoke running around to tell me that my CD is done.

      Show some real uses of this software if it is REALLY that good. For now, I can reckon that lots of people will stick to their Nero, without having to use their media as coasters.
    • TomKarpik, on 10/12/2007, -15/+9You do realize, of course, that burn time estimates are highly dependent on the burner being used and the speed being burned at, right?

      You're a tool.
    • exobyte, on 10/12/2007, -10/+5Just to make sure this is separate from the fun comment...

      It is a really cool effect; props.
    • Evoguy, on 10/12/2007, -14/+8How many times have I heard Apple fans bashing Vista for all the 'eye-candy effects' like flip3D, that are 'superfluous, with no point'. Hmmm....
    • totorototoro, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17Ohhh, burn!! We Windows users can't stand not having pretty, CPU wasting eyecandy that adds no functionality."

      Now now, lets not debate about Vista Aero, its not even techically released yet :p
    • dbr_onix, on 10/12/2007, -14/+6I'm amazed everyone isn't making "Windows has had realtime smoke effects for years.. in video games, suffer Mac users"-typejokes..
      - Ben
    • meatmcguffin, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20"How many times have I heard Apple fans bashing Vista for all the 'eye-candy effects' like flip3D, that are 'superfluous, with no point'. Hmmm...."

      Hold it. That's true, Vista's visual effects are superfluous and often harm the straightforwardness of the interface. (also Disco is not an Apple app)

      Every little visual effect in OS X is there for a reason, sure it may look pretty but there's also a functional implication behind every one. The genie effect shows where documents have ended up in the dock, spaces and fast user switching show a visual progression between desktops, ripples in the dashboard show where a new widget instance has been created, expose shows where your windows have moved from and to and stay in a logical order, the new purple help feature in leopard highlights shortcuts in a very obvious way so you don't miss or forget them, the dock magnification only magnifies one item at a time so the dock never expands past the edges of the screen, the spring loaded folder animations give you a visual indicator as to the folder that has been opened so you can tell it apart from all the others and videos/dvds play while minimised in the dock so you can tell them apart.

      And Vista has that stupid 3D effect where alt-tabbed windows are harder to read. Well done Microsoft.

      Also, OS X use to have transparency by the bucket-load until it was removed when someone realised that it hampered the interface and looked stupid. So what was that about Vista's effects being superfluous?
    • darkwind, on 10/12/2007, -2/+25Actually it doesn't waste CPU cycles b/c that "eye candy" is distributed to the GPU. Much more efficient than Windows.
    • colincornaby, on 10/12/2007, -9/+4"Actually it doesn't waste CPU cycles b/c that "eye candy" is distributed to the GPU. Much more efficient than Windows."

      I'm a Mac guy, but Vista does the same thing. I know Vista's not out yet, but it's basically at the doorstep.
    • DaffyDuck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10"Actually it doesn't waste CPU cycles b/c that "eye candy" is distributed to the GPU. Much more efficient than Windows."

      Just as an example, I have Windows XP running via Parallels, I am encoding a video with visualhub in OS X and also burning a DVD with Disco with smoke on and it's smooth as silk as is everything else.
  • djjuice, on 10/12/2007, -8/+4i'm on a dual core PPC G5 and it doesnt produce smoke either
    GeForce 6600LE
  • Adoozie, on 10/12/2007, -11/+7That's actually pretty clever. I don't understand the whole "Oh yeah? Well mine DOESN'T have smoke! HA!" mentality above...
  • phliver, on 10/12/2007, -3/+26Was there anybody else just waiting for the guy to move the window around to see what happens?
  • B-o-K, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6Needs a heavy GPU too (Disco won't give any smoke signals on my iBook with ATi Radeon 9200)...
    • ReqX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1But it works fine on my iBook with Radeon 9550.
  • bombadier337, on 10/12/2007, -13/+7Every Mac user who said XGL was stupid and a complete waste of resources can be quiet now...
    • Evoguy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17Haha.. cause smoke rising from a window sure shows them! Take that XGL critics! Smoke rises from this window!
  • xswag, on 10/12/2007, -7/+14Are you sure thats a special effect and not the battery.

    Seriously it "Looks" cool but I don't see any use for it taking up memory.
  • PixelCloud, on 10/12/2007, -19/+17another over simplified mac application with pretty effects to keep the fanbois happy
    enjoy
  • Shutter, on 10/12/2007, -13/+6I'm all for simple, non-eye-candied software that works properly...but I'd much rather have smoke visualizing a burning CD than have to wait for a boring progress bar.

    There's a reason I have a dedicated graphics card in my computer. Software should be aesthetically pleasing-- this is 2006 after all.

    (Note: I do not own a mac.)

    As I've said long before... I'd love to have a computer with the openness of linux, the graphics of OS X, and the application base of Windows. That right there describes my perfect PC.
    • brentzilla, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13Then buy a Mac. You can run Linux and Windows in Parallels.
  • RyeBrye, on 10/12/2007, -15/+7Disco is such a lame app. Toast has it's own custom burning code - Disco doesn't. It's just using the Apple disc burning framework and throwing a bunch of useless eye-candy on it.

    Disco = Disc burning for retards.
    • bryans, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1They can't pick an original name either.
  • macmcrae, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2ummm...so? perfect post modern joke for macs. Is it the hardware or software?

  • GUESShimself, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11i gave it a quick try this morning before work on my G5 iMac (pre built-in iSight). the smoke effect (as well as the numerous others) worked just fine. a pretty slick idea.

    but that's not the only thing that makes this app a great one. it's the ease of use. the UI is extremely simple and intuitive. i would def. suggest that people give this a try.
  • iAlex, on 10/12/2007, -12/+6This has been up before! Digg is not some kind of advertising place if they think so. What the heck, stop abusing Digg, Disco crew (if it is you).
    • cbreaker, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Digg is an advertisement site, don't think it's not. There's far too many links to specific product lines to be a coincidence.

      I really do like Digg, but each day the links are going from interesting to boring, a little more each day. There's a lot of us that enjoy looking at things other then Apple product pages and Steve Jobs announcements. Unfortunately, there's a core group on Digg that promotes anything Apple related, and we miss out on other, perhaps more fun links.

      Oh well, you can't win them all. Slashdot has many faults, but I do believe that the average front page post is more interesting because they often bring things up that perhaps groupthink would not.
  • Plooo, on 10/12/2007, -12/+7whoop-di-*****-doo
  • pr0cty, on 10/12/2007, -7/+10not productive, straight eyecandy. At least XGL/Beryl provides productivity in some respect
    • TomKarpik, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Like wobbly windows? For sure.

      As for productivity ... that's what the rest of OS X is for. You should try it sometime.
    • drlha, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12So. Its cool. Geeks used to appreciate things like that. Sadly Digg people are too wrapped up in Windows vs Linux vs Mac to just sit back and say, "hey, that's cool".
  • isolationism, on 10/12/2007, -15/+6Wow, idiotic. It even comes with a built-in warning about how its own bad design can catastrophically interfere with the primary reason for using the application in the first place. Not exactly breaking with Apple's design philosophy, though: "Let's make it pretty then figure out how to make it do something useful."
    • steveng, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Again; read the description, the don't mess around with the computer error is because they moved the laptop, not playing with the smoke.
  • TheLastGnu, on 10/12/2007, -9/+4Seems a lot like Compiz/Beryl effects. Except not nearly as cool, several months too late, and apparently requires higher specs.
    • drlha, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Whereas Compiz/Beryl effects seem like exactly what Mac OS X had 3-5 years ago. Only less useful.
  • antwan911, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3mine wasnt working then i realized u need to turn it on in the system prefernerences

    fire looks weird so i plan to stick to steam for now
  • durazine, on 10/12/2007, -8/+0Who still burns disk?
    • ayeroxor, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4"Who still burns disk?"

      Sounds like the beginning of an "In Soviet Russia" joke...
    • kimos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Must.... resist..... *cringe*
      In soviet Russia, disc burns you!
  • buzzedlightyear, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7who watches a cd burn anyways, it'll be cool watching smoke 1 time, then you'll just minimize it every time after that.
  • djdragon, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1effin' old news
  • corsa, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Heh. Apparently, if you blow into your mic on your Mac while it is burning, it will blow the smoke around. :)
  • theprez, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Not only is this a duplicate story, but honestly Disco pretty much sucks compared to even Disk Utility. Besides a "pretty" user interface and a useless smoke effect, there's a ton of features missing for a CD/DVD burning app. Don't get me wrong, if they added fetaures that are missing like actually burning DVD Video discs and disc images that work, it could be a great replacement for Toast, but it isn't quite there yet.
  • mashw, on 10/12/2007, -8/+5How utterly useless.
  • killinger777, on 10/12/2007, -11/+5Amazing how easily amused Mac fanboys are. HEY!! SHINY BAUBLE!!!
  • 4degrees, on 10/12/2007, -8/+5one word... worthless
  • sarusa, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3Boy, if there was ever a poster child for how your stereotypical Mac user prefers pretty sparklies over functionality this is it.

    And I am a Mac OS X user, though not only a Mac OS X user.
  • yathosho, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3looks sweet, even if i'd disable that after a while. hope it's not the only power feature, otherwise i don't see why spending 15 bucks.
  • deadbaby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7This is the type of feature I turn off immediately.
  • alphahack, on 10/12/2007, -10/+0If this is the best you have to boast about owning a MAC, im glad i'm a pc user. Sure you have smoke when burning OMG wow! yeah i'll stick to my wide as the pacific ocean list of applications which i can use on my pc rather than your good looking yet inefficient applications which can barely fill the Mediterranean
    • meatmcguffin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10I can run OSX and I can run windows on the same machine and at the same time using Boot Camp and Parallels.

      You can run windows.

      Who has the most applications available here?
    • drlha, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Why on Earth do you think this is the best thing we can talk about for the Mac?

      Its just a silly, but cool looking hack. I don't understand why people are getting so pissy about it, apart from the fact its on a Mac, so it gives everyone an excuse to get into the age old OS flame war.
    • alphahack, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0actually you're wrong i can run OS X too, and have been able to for longer than you've been able to run windows on a mac. I hold in my hand right now a burned dvd that i can install on my desktop pc made for windows, but wont as i don't see any advantages in installing is when i'm quite satisfied as it is.
    • DaffyDuck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"and have been able to for longer than you've been able to run windows on a mac."

      Care to explain this? Are you saying you think you can put the PowerPC version of OS X on your PC?
    • alphahack, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0yes i can explain this, i'm saying that the os for the intel based OS X was leaked a couple months before the actual intel imac came out therefore yes pc's have technically been able to run OS X alongside windows for longer than a mac
  • wordsthatendini, on 10/12/2007, -10/+2Wow... Smoke... and an alert that tells you that you are about to create a coaster... hmmmmm. How completely useless can you get.
    Are people really sitting staring at their computer while they are buring a dvd. C'mon.
    • TomKarpik, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9The alert comes up if you physically fiddle with the computer -- ie. pick it up. It uses the motion sensor in modern Macs to detect physical movement.
  • Overlord, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8I am surprised at the number of people who think this app has no functionality. I don't think that many people have even tried it to say something like that. Sure it might not be filled to the brim with features, but it does seem to offer quite a lot of things most burning apps do not.

    No I am not talking about the smoke. I am talking about the fact that it's a smooth, easy to use UI that doesn't make your brain explode with options. Lets face it, there isn't much need for all those options in most burning software anyway. Most people just want to pop in a blank disc, pick out what to burn, hit go and forget about it. This application does just that and still allows for some of the advanced features people want. Sure it's not perfect, but it is still beta anyway. Instead of criticizing it's use of the video card for some smoke effect, why not look at the app from a realistic perspective outside of the boring world of long feature lists. If you don't like the app then fine, but there is no sense complaining that it wastes your time because the window smokes.
    • alphahack, on 10/12/2007, -6/+0i think the point people want to get accross is not that the app has no functionality, but rather mac users have nothing more to boast about and obviously use this to show their superiotiry to pc users. Like saying "i'm better than you because i have a mac and it can do this one awesome thing, of course allot of features are deprecated, but yeah its like those mac commercials mac users are so individual and artistic! What you say? what about that vast range of things windows can do that i choose to voluntarily ignore in order to feel superior to people? what?"
  • neiltc13, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3I bury each and every story about this application as SPAM. I'm certain that the folks behind it are so desperate for sales (and to a lesser extent personal attention) that they have been artificially seeding digg with crap about their application for months.

    Come on guys it's a sorry state of affairs when the THIRD MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE LISTED ON THE DISCO WEBSITE is "smoke".
  • igdrasa, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2So this is what quad core is good for?
  • jjjjjjb, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8The great thing about this app is that it catalogues what you have burnt - so if you are organized and keep your burnt discs in some sort of order, it's much easier to find where that file went.

    That, and not the gimmicky smoke effect, is worth the US$14.95 to me.
  • alexsantos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I have to say the following.

    I went to their website and the features proposed and those currently included are actually very nice. Not only is the app pleasant to look at but if you visit the site and read a bit on the features you will be impressed.

    It's not just eye candy.

    So before you disagree with me, check them out.

    Their link is posted somewhere above this message.
  • sybersnake, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2the cd and dvd burning built into OSX itself works fine. Now, you can't create multi-format cds in it tho. If it can give you win/osx multiformat cds for 15$ then its cheaper than toast because thats the only reason i ever use toast.
  • Reziarfg, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Oooo Ahhh, Mac shiny, smokey smokey MMmmm.
  • Rabid_Llama, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2Jesus christ, digg is full of fanboys.
  • H3g3m0n, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3The Linux windows don't just smoke, they burst into flames :)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw4fV2brcq8

    Still the smoke animation is awesome and interactive. Hopefully someone will get around to cloning it soon :)
  • phytonix, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I can use Finder to burn.
  • bvguitarplayer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Pointless application. Taking advantage of DIGG to advertise. This developer is doing so well advertising and pretending they're happy customers, that people are actually buying this. You're loss. I'm not buying this. Why?? Because there is a website called versiontracker.com where you can type in disc burning,

    If you're that in to cheep burning software. OS X has it built in. If you're still whining... http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/19697 has a free burning app for mac that is probably identical, without the smoke and the annoying and DIGG spamming developers.
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