XPlanet-generated World Images
These images use near-real-time weather data, and some very nicely rendered maps using satellite data, combined into one image using "xplanet". See http://taint.org/xplanet/ for the images.
These pages describe how to display these on your desktop automatically, without having to manually download them:
On Linux:
On MacOS X:
On Windows:
Use this tool to download and display the images on your Desktop.
Another Windows Application Desktop Earth 2.0 to display the images on your Desktop.
Want techie details of how the caching system works? See CacheControlUsingRedirects.
Comments
got comments? leave 'em here!
The images are just fantastic. They really uber-geekout my desktop. Thank you! -- Mitchua
Would be cool to have low resolution pictures respecting an homothetic translation from the 2048x1024 source (e.g. 1400x700, 1024x512, ...) -- ThibaultCantegrel
Thibault, done! 1024x512 is now available. -- JustinMason
Fantastic! For Windows users - the script above didn't work for me. However, just set up the active desktop to the relevant Xplanet URL and set it to synchronise when your computer is idle for more than 5 minutes. -- SimonSanders