There are multiple ways of viewing the earth, and factors such as the distribution of light and current cloud patterns can be used in the rendering of the image to give a beautiful and time-accurate representation of the earth. In a nutshell, EarthDesk is a program that will generate a desktop picture of the earth, and will update that desktop image constantly in order to reflect the current conditions. EarthDesk is a perfect example of such a program. We're not talking about widgets here, because most of them actually have a purpose beyond looking pretty, but rather the esthetic programs that we download and use simply because we can and they look good. That's your best source.There are certain programs out there, which serve no real purpose but without which our computing experience would be just a little bit more drab. The cloud updates aren't as detailed and frequently updated as going direct to NOAA's site. Ap22:46 EST #4 LaVita - errr, I don't really think EarthDesk is very useful for watching hurricanes.florida, this is something that is desparately needed to keep up with the hurricanes season Lee Bennett (ATPM Staff) Ap21:16 EST #3 I must say that living in s.w.I still think it's money well spent if you are fascinated by world-view maps and enjoy having a live image on your desktop. Unlike the upgrade from version 1 to version 2, an upgrade license for version 3 costs $10 with the full purchase price remaining at $20. You can also define the opacity of the cloud layer-100% is a bit too strong for my taste. EarthDesk is now up to version 3 and…tada…now includes a feature to download live cloud cover data and overlay the clouds on your desktop maps. J15:38 EST #2 Well, 2½ years later and here's another update.However, I'm apparently not in the majorityas VersionTracker comments would suggest. I'm quite accustomed to this type of protection since I'm a person who distinctly remembers the watermarks that were laid on top of every printout I made while in college taking courses that taught me how to use Aldus PageMaker and FreeHand (yes, I've actually been using those programs long before Adobe and Macromedia, respectively, got their hands on them). Personally, I had no problem with the developer's decision to place a very large unregistered message across the image instead of making it display normally for period of time before not working at all. So, now, after enjoying looking at EarthDesk for a while, I can watch my Marine Aquarium fish swim behind my icons while I continue working!Īdditionallyit was drawn to my attention that I may not have sufficiently described the nagware EarthDesk uses. It seems smoother and more stable, it includes an application to set which screen effect you want as your background as well as an application to start the last-used effect at login without having to open the control interface, and, best of all, it doesn't interfere with using icons or anything else on your desktop. It's called CoolBackground and it seems to do what SaverLab does, only better. Janu18:33 EST #1 While proofreading this month's issue of ATPM, I learned in another article that there's an alternative to the SaverLab utility I mentioned, above.He also indicated that automated Daylight Saving Time is likely to show up in a future release. When I inquired about these items, the developer responded (and did not take his time doing so) that EarthDesk is a Carbon application so it can run on OS 8.6 through 9.2, and Carbon applications can’t be System Preferences panes or menu bar icons. Currently, you must click a checkbox to toggle it on or off and remember to do so every time you “spring ahead” and “fall behind.” Another helpful addition would be to automate Daylight Saving Time. The wallpaper does remain visible if you quit the application, but it will no longer stay current. Currently, an application must be running (which means its icon is in the OS X dock) for the image to update. What I’d like to see is either a menu bar or System Preferences pane to control this product. Regardless, my rating of Very Nice instead of Excellent was not based on its price. (Yes, I remember the tightwad days of college.) I certainly wouldn’t complain if it were $10 or $12, but I didn’t mind the $20. I can understand why some people might find it a tad steep. Other VersionTracker comments I read complained about the $20 price tag.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |