Why I'm writing a review on something so simple I don't know...
The original version of this widget used to use heaps of CPU and was a rather silly novelty-value download. Maybe it still is? It used to reset every time you closed the dashboard too, which was annoying. Now when you open the dashboard, it continues where it left off, but with hardly any CPU usage. If you know the trick to get the widget floating on the desktop, it's really better for that than sitting in the dashboard.

The developers were very responsive to polite feedback. Even though it's a free widget, they made a big effort to make it run well. Unless you're on dialup, if it's checking for a new version, who cares? If you're worried about what info it's sending, either check with a program what it sends or don't use it. If it were some kind of spyware and the developers were evil, I think we'd know by now.

Lava lamp is a free bit of fun. I think all the people making nasty comments are just jelous of the developer's success with it.