The view from here

As long as there have been computers, there have been desktop background images. Quite frankly, I’ve always kind of thought that it’s dumb because if you’re doing anything with your computer, you shouldn’t be seeing the desktop anyway.

And yet, it’s the very first thing that I do when I get a new computer and something that I change periodically. I guess there’s something impressive when someone looks over your shoulder and is impressed with the image.

With the advent of Apple’s Mojave upgrade, they’ve added the ability to have dynamic images as your background. Now, rotating images isn’t new but it was worth experimenting with anyway. This implementation is different.

Out of the box, Apple gives you a couple to get started. I tried them and they do work and are kind of neat. I’m assuming that it reads your computer clock and adjusts accordingly. But, there has to be more!

Look at my desktop now. This is the image as of 7:00am.

I had to learn about the “High Efficiency Image File Format” in the process but learning is good.

And later at about 8:30, you can see lightness working its way across the planet. (That’s twice in one morning that I’ve looked at my desktop!)

This is part of a collection offered for free – in addition to Earth above, look for HEIFFs of Jupiter, Moon, International Space Station, a City and New Orleans. Instructions about how to make this work are at the bottom of the page.

The page? Well, it’s right here.

Have you upgraded to Mojave and played around with this feature? Do you have a favourite? Please let me know via comment.