The Alpine Desktop

Flickr user Joseph Thacker wanted a desktop that was informative and a window to some beautiful scenery — something a little more like the traditional Rainmeter setups we’ve seen in the past. The result is this simple, clean layout: monitors and feeds on the right, arc clock near the bottom, and a gorgeous wallpaper behind it all.

If you want the same look for your Windows desktop, here’s how to set it up:

• The Kitzbuhel Mountain View wallpaper of the Austrian Alps from InterfaceLIFT
• The Rainmeter system configuration and management utility for Windows
• The Arcs skin for Rainmeter to create the clock in the lower left side of the screen
• The Enigma suite (built in to Rainmeter) to create the status bar on the right side of the display with RSS feeds, a clock with the date, system resource monitors, the launcher at the top, and the battery and volume indicators at the top of the screen

That’s all there is to it. This desktop is great for people just getting started with Rainmeter, or with customising your desktop so it works for you and shows you information you need when you need it. Enigma is part of Rainmeter at this point, and the Arcs skin doesn’t add much overhead, so even modest systems shouldn’t have a problem running them. Simple and straightforward.

Need help making it your own? We walk through the same skins in our guide to Rainmeter. Alternatively, head over to Joseph’s Flickr page to ask your questions!

Desktop for Lifehacker [Flickr]