Flickr user Rory Sykes, like most of us, has two displays attached to his computer, and while he may only work on one of them at any given time, that doesn’t mean the other has to just sit there and look pretty. Using Rainmeter, he has it loaded up with useful information.
If you’re running Windows 7, have dual monitors and want the same setup, here’s what you need to get started:
- The wallpaper for the left display from CrispMe and the wallpaper for the right display from the user’s own Flickr photos.
- Rainmeter, a system monitor and customisation utility for Windows
- The Enigma suite for the sidebar on the left desktop
- Elementary for Rainmeter for the date and time
- The Before Dawn Bar for the widgets and info panel across the top of the right display.
- WP7 for Rainmeter to create the Metro-style widgets and text
- The Lifeless Red skin pack for Rainmeter
- Stardock’s ObjectDock to customise the Windows taskbar
This particular setup is interesting because the main desktop is clear enough to have applications open and running while you’re working, but the secondary display is just as packed with information that can be useful if you’re running something in full-screen on the main display (like a game) or keep other applications on the second display just to check periodically (like your favourite email or Twitter client).
If you need help getting all of the components to look just right, head over to tutorial on setting up Rainmeter to get started, or ping Rory Sykes on his Flickr page. If you have a Mac or are running Linux, you can approximate some of the same effects using GeekTool or Conky, respectively, but not everything.
Dual Screen Desktop [Flickr]
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