The Orbital Control Desktop [Featured Desktop]

Many of the desktops we feature are minimal, practical, and elegant. This one's on the cluttered side, and it's not terribly practical when you have apps open all over it, but it's definitely fun to look at, and reminds us a bit of a computer display from a sci-fi film. Flickr user Aaron Lloyd shared this with us, and boy is it packed with tools and information.

If you want the same look for your Windows desktop, here are the components you'll need:

• The wallpaper from Wallbase (or more approprately, NASA)
• The Rainmeter system configuration and management utility for Windows
• The Hi-Tech Desktop theme for Rainmeter to create the circular menus, globe, time and date, weather conditions, volume slider on the right, system montioring meters, and recycle bin widgets
• The Illustro Rainmeter skin (built-in) for the inbox widget, Google search, and RSS feed monitor
• The Cityscapes Rainmeter skin, which we can't find to save our lives (if someone has a link, we'll post it here!) to create the center clock and date.

This one has a lot of overlapping elements, so if you like some of the elements here, you could probably apply them to your own desktop and retain some clear and open space. Still, we know some of you prefer the data-packed desktops, so this might be up your alley. Not sure how to make this work? Head over to Aaron's Flickr page to ask him how he put it all together (and where he got that Cityscapes skin!) If you're new to Rainmeter, check out our getting started guide to get familiar with it and customize your own desktop!

When you're finished building a beautiful, creative, and functional desktop, share with the world! Submit it to the Lifehacker Desktop Show and Tell Flickr Group so we can see it! Please include a description of how you made it - without that, we can't tell others how to make it for themselves. Do these things, and it may just be the next featured desktop!

Desktop | Flickr

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/jSeFUTpvROw/the-orbital-control-desktop

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