Time’s Perspective Desktop

You may remember Ian Michael Smith‘s Sands of Time Desktop, where he hid the date and time behind a mountain of sand. Ian’s playing with time again, using GeekTook to create another really beautiful desktop.

Ian made this video to explain how he made his last desktop. This one uses similar effects, so if you want to recreate this effect in your own way, just watch the video to learn how. Ian also wrote a custom application called MobileMode for when it’s time to take his laptop away of the desktop. Here’s how he made it:

First I began with one ultimate function in mind – to free up battery and CPU with a click of a button. I decided that Applescript would be the best route, and I would make a .command file via Terminal for the “one click” functionality. I accumulated the script I needed by compiling three different scripts I found online and then modified them to fit the specific function I wanted. Basically I can read script, but I can’t “speak” it well enough to create a completely original code, but none the less I was able to find a number of different user-free scripts offered up at forums around the net which I found with Google.

When I had finished my script I then went on to create a terminal .command file (to launch the script). This is clear evidence of my lack of Applescript experience as well as how much I learned in my project. Tip for to-be application makers: If you want your script to be an applet, just Save As > Application 😉 … much easier than what I was attempting to do. All the application needs now is a finishing touch.

I created the icon for my app using Photoshop. I mimicked Apple’s design of the “Sync” icon. All I needed was a circle, an aluminium texture, an eject icon, and knowledge of how to letterpress in Blending Options. Finally I saved my image as a .psd file, a .png file, and – using IMG2ICNS – converted the .png into a usable icon.

Perspective [Flickr via Ian Michael Smith]