Desktops
Today I remembered a program I’d heard about before I got my Mac, that I’d wanted to try out but couldn’t. It was a program that created a close to realtime image of the earth from space on your desktop, updating clouds, lights in the night etc. every half hour or so from the internet. It’s called EarthDesk, and it’s a fantastic program. I downloaded it today – there’s a Windows version available now so most of you could do the same – and it works brilliantly (albeit with large text over the picture telling you to buy it). I’m not using it for one reason – it takes up about a hundred megabytes of RAM. If I had a few gigabytes to spare, maybe…
I also tried out BackLight, which again is pretty darn excellent – it allows you to use a screensaver as your desktop. Apple have a brilliant slow-moving abstract screensaver that’s perfect, as it barely changes but changes enough to make it interesting. So I used that for a bit – only to discover that Exposé breaks it, and the real desktop (BackLight only overlays something on top of the current desktop) appears again. That, and it creating a menu item next to the Bluetooth and Airport status items (which I never like it when applications do) made it not such a good choice.
So what about Desktop Earth? Pretty good, actually. This website allows you to choose the time, date, and where to centre the camera, and renders custom desktops of the earth from space for you. I’ve got one currently which I will use in the future that is an amazingly detailed picture, perfect for a desktop.
In the end, though, I had to go with an old favourite:
I don’t know why I always return to this picture. I edited a picture I found on deviantART years ago and have used it on every operating system since Windows. I will have other things on my desktop for months at a time, but I don’t think there’s been a year since I found it that I haven’t had this one for a couple of months. (I want to take a photo of my own one day that I’ll feel the same way about.)
Matthew @ 14:14, June 17, 2006 to Geek | Comments (9)
Comments:
Mr E
That Backlight program is pretty cool. The fact it disappears with Exposé is slightly annoying but not really a huge problem in my opinion. I don’t care about the little icon.
Comment added at 15:57, June 17, 2006
Matthew
If they could fix that (as I’m sure is possible) I’d put up with the extra NSStatusItem. Actually, if you’re using the abstract screensaver and one of Apple’s abstract backgrounds, as Exposé dims the desktop anyway it would probably look alright.
Oh, and notice from the screenshot that you can get rid of the Dashboard dock icon, freeing up dock space and without breaking Dashboard :) Now all I need is a new icon for MarsEdit or a new version of ecto to replace it, and my dock is free of icons I dislike!
Comment added at 01:16, June 18, 2006
Mr E
How do you get rid of the Dashboard icon?
Comment added at 11:16, June 18, 2006
Mr E
Please remove that last post, in the same way I just removed the Dashboard icon from the dock.
Comment added at 11:17, June 18, 2006
VC
Haha! Mr E doesn’t know things! What a dolt.
Comment added at 15:41, June 18, 2006
Becca
On a completely different note, just coz I can’t be bothered to go back to the entry that you talked about it in, I watched Sky High yesterday coz you said it was good (and had nothing better to do and a fiver in my pocket) and really enjoyed it. So good recommendation there, buddy.
Comment added at 22:23, June 18, 2006
Sheepie
A fiver! Our local Odeon cinemas are £6.80…
Anyway, I don’t think that background goes particularly well with the bright colours of your dock.
Comment added at 22:30, June 18, 2006
Becca
It was in the dvd hire shop, not the cinema. And cinemas in London (well near me anyway) vary from £6 – £20, depends where you wanna go.
I like the background. It’s a tad creepy but its pretty.
Comment added at 20:44, June 19, 2006
Matthew
Yeah Sheepie, Sky High hasn’t been in the cinema for aaaages.
Mr E: Yeah, the same way you remove anything else :)
Comment added at 09:35, June 20, 2006
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