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Put the world on your desktop

EarthDesk replaces your Macintosh desktop picture or Windows wallpaper with a stunning dynamic image of our planet continuously updating in the background while you work.

Real-time clouds (updated at 3-hour intervals) with transparency and moonlight reflection. Accurate sun, moon and city lighting. High quality twilight shading. Automatically updates when waking from sleep. Moonlight shading can be turned on or off. Complete multi-display support. Eleven different map projections. Enhanced satellite, political and natural maps.

Multiple monitors and projections

EarthDesk's wide variety of map projections gives you complete control over the maps on your desktop.

EarthDesk can be installed on systems with multiple monitors. Each Macintosh desktop is independently configurable so that different maps can be shown on different screens... or you may choose to only display map images on certain monitors. For Windows, the image can span across multiple screens.

EarthDesk runs in the background on your Mac or PC, keeping your desktop up-to-date.

Track hurricanes and typhoons

With an internet connection, EarthDesk displays real-time global cloud cover, allowing users to track hurricanes and typhoons, or simply admire our beautiful planet. User options allow you to the overall transparency of the cloud layer.

Unique to EarthDesk is accurate rendering of moonlight on the Living Earth satellite map. To create this stunning effect, the phase of the moon and reflectiveness of the Earth's surface are used to determine correct coloring of the image, ensuring a realistic view of the Earth from space.

Like a Swiss watch

EarthDesk uses the same Atlas database technology as Time Palette, providing the application with detailed geographical and time zone information for 10,000 cities throughout the world.

The Atlas maintains comprehensive rules for Daylight Saving Time (Summer Time), giving EarthDesk a level of accuracy unmatched by other applications.

Customization

EarthDesk gives you numerous options for configuring map images on your desktop.

Maps can be centered on a city, so that the map remains stationary while the sun and moon move. Alternatively, the map center may be locked to the position of the sun or moon so that the shadow remains fixed, while the map moves.

New in version 5 for Macintosh

  • Faster performance and lower processor usage.
  • Snow and vegetation change month-to-month.
  • Higher resolution cloud data on large displays.
  • Supports machines with dual GPUs.

  • Adjustable brightness.
  • Adjustable background color.
  • Updated political map.
  • Political map shows city lights and moonlight.

  • Centering menus are sorted alphabetically.
  • Globe projection can now be offset.
  • Simplified menu on single-display machines.
  • Softer evaluation watermark during trial period.

  • Checks for updates automatically.
  • Supports monitor attach/detach while running.
  • All desktop settings are now restored upon quit.
  • Existing desktop image aspect ratio is preserved.

  • Cloud capture and download times shown.
  • Easier install process for upgrades.

  • Rewritten from the ground up.
  • Rendering engine is now 100% Cocoa.
  • 64 bit application and ready for Snow Leopard.
  • No dependence on Carbon or QuickDraw.

    • In over 140 countries...

    Xeric Design, based in Incline Village, Nevada, is a leader in global time and mapping software. Its flagship product, EarthDesk, for both Macintosh and Windows, is enjoyed by users in more than 140 countries.

    Award-Winning...

    Xeric Design, based in Incline Village, Nevada, is a leader in global time and mapping software. Its flagship product, EarthDesk, for both Macintosh and Windows, is enjoyed by users in more than 140 countries.

    What the press say...

    "It's one thing to know in the abstract that people in other parts of the world are heading out to happy hour as you're waking up with the sun; it's quite another to see it happening." -MacWorld