Developer Tom Taylor is putting an interesting spin on the live wallpaper concept, turning your humble desktop into a bird's-eye view of your current surroundings. Satellite Eyes uses map data from Bing Maps and OpenStreetMap, but your desktop choices aren't limited to a simple satellite photo; you can spice things up with Stamen’s "watercolor" (pictured above), "toner," and (only in the US) "terrain" map styles. You can even go a step further with halftone (pictured below) and pixellation effects, giving you a dozen possible skins to choose from. If you have a dual monitor setup, the map stretches across both screens instead of duplicating the same image, and the zoom level is adjustable — from a view of your street all the way up to your geographic region. If you'd like to take your own look, the app is a free download from Taylor's website.
Satellite Eyes for OS X puts your neighborhood on your desktop
Tom Taylor’s Satellite Eyes map for OS X uses map data from Bing Maps and OpenStreetMap to put a satellite map of your current surroundings on your desktop.
Tom Taylor’s Satellite Eyes map for OS X uses map data from Bing Maps and OpenStreetMap to put a satellite map of your current surroundings on your desktop.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
