The Earth is probably the best planet I´ve ever been to, so I like to keep abreast of what´s going on in the world. I found this desktop background great for monitoring cloud cover, the advance of day and night and nocturnal lights around the globe.

Although the cloud cover only renews itself every 3 hours, you might be able to find a server faster than those built into the Desktop Earth and apply this for quicker generation. The illuminated surface of the Earth updates every minute though, so it´s great for finding out where the Sun is concentrated at any given moment. I would have liked to have seen a few more options, such as the ability to rotate the image on your desktop, but on the whole Desktop Earth provides a decent solar clock, a rudimentary weather chart and, more importantly, a stunning view from your desktop.

There is no limit on the resolution, and the imagery is calculated from high-resolution 2560x1280 textures, so you can go wild with it even on 30" flat panel displays. Multi-monitor configurations are also supported.