Startrail

The good news is this still works on the latest version of Mavericks. The bad news is the developer's website domain is up for sale with no further info.

The link to the developer no longer works. Here is the URL that does still work: http://pawn-soft.com/index.php There still is no update for Snow Leopard unfortunately.

DOES NOT WORK ON SNOW LEOPARD! From the developer's web site: "I'm sorry to announce that, due to a OS bug, Startrail does not work on Snow Leopard. To be a little more specific, there is a certain case in which apps stop receiving mouse movements (if you want me to be more technical, please email me). Obviously this is the case for Startrail. I filed the bug to Apple, but since it is a very specific bug, I don't know when or wether it will be fixed. I'm very sorry, I tried some workaround but none of them seems to work. So please be advised that if you intend to upgrade to Snow Leopard, Startrail will not work anymore. If you bought a license for Startrail after Snow Leopard release, please email me for a refund."

Excellent on Macbook pro 1.8/2gb ram. Non-intrusive. I have no problem with the dispersion of the stars it lets me know exactly where my cursor is at any time. I especially like the color change. Hope this is ported to the upcoming 10.5 system. I wish there would be something else to happen on mouse clicks...that would be cool.

Definitely a keeper! More & more options each update! Still rock solid on my iMac Dual Core (MacInel) with OSX 10.4.10 v1.1 Excellent work! P.s. Still a minor cosmetic issue of the "About" window hiding behind other open windows. But so minor that it's no biggee!

Works great, a very nice application. The animation runs very smoothly, and the easy-to-use preferences screen makes it simple to customize the particle colors, shapes, sizes, etc. You can also pause the star effect and make a quick burst of stars appear via key command which is nice. All in all, a fantastic app!

Still working flawlessly on a MacIntel OSX 10.4.10(11) What can I say, I already liked it, now it's even better with options and key commands. And if your into it Matteo Manferdini (Pawn Software), I have 2 suggestions. 1) Colour control, pick a colour or randomize it or leave it to cycle as is now. 2) Shape control, pick a standard shape (star , circle, square, cross , triangle or whatever) Great work, Matteo Manferdini , keep it up!

Very pretty and despite other complaints, I'd say good work. My only suggestion is that you try to alter the graphics so that the cursor leaves behind more of a narrow trail than a series of wide bursts.

Gee, people can be so critical. This "starburst" program is very creative and lots of fun. I wish I could add it to my domain and have the star dance around while others are looking at my website. But as it is, it's colorful, sparkling, and much appreciated. Thanks for your hard work. Rick. www.RickSaphire.com

Okay, it does what it says. More like bursts of stars rather than a trail but if you move the mouse you get a trail. Having said that it's only entertaining for a short while before you have to quit the app to do anything. Slight movements of the mouse causes a star burst which obscures what you want to do. Positioning the cursor is difficult so your only option is to quit it. My suggestions: Preferences: Allow for a user defined delay before star bursting. Allow a used defined movement (number of pixels) before star bursting. Allow a key sequence to toggle it on and off. Tie amount or stars to acceleration of mouse. Have a key sequence to burst stars so I can find my cursor. And on and on.

I have to agree with other comments. This app works fine on my computer, but "StarTrail" is not an approriate name. "StarBurst" would be better.

17" iMac Dual Core running OSX 10.4.10. This is now the second FREE animated cursor application. And the only FREE one that doesn't lag behind my cursor! I also like that it's dockless with all the options available via the menubar. And who cares if there's better looking ones, they ain't free! Great work!

Yup, its pretty useless, but I actually like the effect...these are the kind of programs that should be open source...its cool that the app doesnt show in the dock and theres no menu bar...i would love to see the source code for this.

I was expecting to leave a happy-go-lucky review like "Completely useless but also completely awesome!! 4/5 stars!" But sadly the software does not do what it says. Instead of "leaving a trail of stars" it creates short explosions of stars as I move the pointer around. Definitely not the same thing. It's a good start. But I have seen other examples which achieve this effect much better.

Doesn't do anything for me, and by that I mean the software literally has no effect on my computer. Wait, I take that back. The star trails appear in a square in the bottom left corner of my screen which seems to be about 400x400 pixels. Weird.

The programm add a menu item where you can stop the trail. Could be useful a hotkey for able and disable the software, a readme could be useful too. Anyway, nice utility.

Seems nice but there is no provision for adjusting it or quiting it. I used Activity Monitor to quit the process. I think it needs a way to change the settings. Adding a delay before stars start flying would make it easier to position the cursor etc. Otherwise a nice idea that could use a user interface.