Tuesday, May 7, 2013
This starts with a high definition base image of the planet, updated monthly to give a more accurate view of snow coverage, the seasons and so on.
The picture then gets
overlaid with cloud images, which can be updated regularly. These look gorgeous
and give a realistic effect, but aren't actual snapshots, so don't rely on them
for weather forecasting.
To finish, you can
actually see the passage of daylight across the globe, so your desktop will
very graphically show you where it's daytime right now, and where it's the
middle of the night (it can even add city lights for a little extra realism).
And Desktop Earth will
by default update the image every five minutes, to keep it reasonably accurate.
(Although you can change the update interval and many other program settings
from its system tray icon.)
If your desktop is
covered in shortcuts, of course, the program may not be for you. They'll be
more difficult to see, with the changing wallpaper (plus they'll obscure so
much of the amazing visuals that you may wonder why you bothered).
If your desktop is
normally clear, though, Desktop Earth is a great way to give it some life. The
program is entirely free, no adware issues to worry about. And while it runs in
the background, RAM use is minimal, at only around 5MB on our test system.
Platforms: Windows 7 (32 bit), Windows 7 (64 bit),
Windows Vista (32 bit), Windows Vista (64 bit), Windows XP
Version: 2.1.1
Licence: Freeware
Version: 2.1.1
Licence: Freeware
Download link:
