EarthDesk replaces your static desktop picture with a rendered image of Earth showing correct sun, moon and city illumination.
With an internet connection, EarthDesk displays real-time global cloud cover, allowing users to track hurricanes and typhoons, or simply admire our beautiful planet. User options allow you to adjust the overall transparency of the cloud layer.
Eleven different projections.
Political, enhanced satellite and natural maps.
Zoom from 50% to 400%.
City lights appear at night.
Atlas contains 10,000 cities.
EarthDesk gives you
What's New
Version 5.8.3:
Fixes a bug which could cause the clouds to stop updating.
Regardless of who you agree with, I think it is inappropriate for the developer to keep complaining to customers about the cost of bandwidth. Whatever concerns you have about bandwidth are between you and your bandwidth provider. We don't have anything to do with that.
The deal you have with us is to provide a certain program for a certain price. Many people have taken the opinion that you have taken that price and are now suddenly refusing to provide the service unless we pay more money. Although you have pointed out a loophole that makes it legal for you to do this, personally I am not especially eager to give my money to developers who take the money and find a loophole.
We strive to deliver the best product for our customers. The fact is that we can't guarantee a third party service. It is the same for any app that relies on internet-based data such as banking, weather or news feeds.
Our original cloud data provider is now charging $36/yr. We've been able to double that detail level (well beyond what we ever offered in the past) for $9.95/yr as an optional service.
We have also increased the detail level of the free cloud service as much as possible... a far better solution than simply ending the service entirely.
We plan to keep improving both free and paid services.
Has a BIG issue with memory usage in 5.8.2. Having installed iStat menus to keep an eye on my newly installed memory usage I noticed Earthdesk gradually increases its usage over time. Having been away for 5 days I find it is using 1.7Gb memory! No wonder my machine was slowing down... I emailed Xeric as I thought it was retaining coud images and got the following response... "It is not the clouds files (though we will double check that), but rather
the image data for the maps. We have fixed this for a future release.
It might be released with EarthDesk 6, but is more likely to be sooner."
Nice! We might have to pay extra to fix a major bug in the program having already paid for it, AND paid extra for high-res clouds.. Not impressed :(
On my test system it is about 400mb or Real/Private 16mb Shared and 700mb Virtual which is fairly normal. Your system may be preventing files from being released (perhaps a virus checker or similar software is holding EarthDesk's files open so they can't be purged).
The change in v6 will be how the VM system works and will use less memory, but this doesn't seem to be the root cause in your case. I sent you an email to ask about details from Activity Monitor, but have not heard back. Please contact us.
Outstanding app. I resisted a bit to pay for the High res cloud images but decided to this morning and I do not regret it. The imaging is exceptional.
I have never experienced any problems with EarthDesk and appreciate the care that has gone in to its design. There are quite a few configurable options but they are not overwhelming in the manner of some apps that try to offer too much.
Easy-peasey to set up and has been rock solid throughout.
I can't comment on Xeric's support because I have had no need to ever contact them.
I'm happy to see that the cloud definition is now acceptable. These last week, the cloud quality decreased for people who didn't pay the high res but it is now very good.
Is 24.95 a one-time payment, or are there any recurring fees involved? I mean if I'm a paid user, shall I have to pay for those hi-res clouds annually as well?
24.95 is payment for the app which includes standard clouds. If you want very high-res clouds (up to 18 times more data), then you'll need a cloud access key which is 9.95 per year.
If we gave everyone the high-res clouds in 5.8.1 (which are double the data level of 5.8), then we'd have to find a way to pay for 2 terabytes of bandwidth every day... that is something we simply can't do for free.
You are welcome to try out the app before deciding to purchase it. There is a button with will provide a demo of the high-res clouds.
We understand some people are disappointed in the recent changes that have required us to charge for high-resolution cloud data. It was not a happy change for us either. Since early September we have done nothing except work on building a suitable infrastructure to deliver this data.
For paid users, we are working on the possibility of doubling the resolution currently distributed. Internal testing is looking good so far and these very high resolution images look fantastic.
For free users, we are looking at ways to increase the resolution somewhat, perhaps at the expense of update frequency.
We welcome your comments here and on our EarthDesk facebook page.
Renzotavanti: Yes, NASA maps are free, but they are static. The cloud images change many times a day and while the data may be free, the bandwidth to deliver them is not free. Our image provider (which had supplied them for free since 2005) simply stopped a few days prior to the bundle sale... and had we done nothing, there would have been no clouds at all.
It is one thing not be able to deliver high res cloud pictures for free. But I can see no reason the pictures of the earth it selves are in an ugly resolution. Sorry, but that's a no-go.
From where I stand this is unacceptable, you buy an app because of it's function, and when you buy you expect that you can have those options and not at a suddenly higher cost. Even more since earth desk purpose is to look good on your desktop. Cloud are not free anymore? Not my problem, I paid for an app, I expect to be able to use this app like before, it's not like it's a fee for an upgrade, it's a fee for no downgrade.... If I buy a car that comes with spair tires at a given time, if the tire price rise, it's not my problem they were part of the package.... Do not charge me for a price rise, it was up to you to not sale something you can't provide on long term....
The Earth images have not changed at all and are still at the same resolution they have always been. Only the clouds have changed.
We do not own the cloud data which is why our license agreement has always stated: "Cloud images are not provided by a source under the control of Xeric Design, Ltd. Image content, accuracy, availability and timeliness are not guaranteed."
If the service were to stop entirely, we are not going to launch our own satellites to replace it.
EarthDesk is a great little toy app, it makes you desktop and screensaver feel more lively, if you are into the changing views of the earth. But it isn't always reliable in running and it can eat resources.
So now XERIIC wants to charge $10-$25 per year just to download cloud data? HAHAHAHAH! Let's just see how that business money works out for ya. If you do that, then drop the frackin' control panel price to $10! XERIC charges $25 for this toy. That's a quarter of Apple's price of the entire OSX operating system. I think the control panel is OK, besides being a bit of a resource hog. It does makes a interesting desktop display. I've owned every version since the first, but the clouds do look like clumps of cheese curd oozing across the globe. But to ask people to pay a subscription fee just to make EarthDesk do and look the way it should have in the first place, that's just greed oozing out your Xeric gills. BTW, there are plenty of free or much cheaper programs that do much of what EarthDesk does.
Kosovar1: This data has been provided for free by a third party since we started offering clouds in 2005. It was mostly a volunteer organization and often used university networks.
That service stopped about a month ago and we simply can't afford to spend several hundred dollars per day to transfer the data (more than a terabyte per day).
I already paid for a fully functioning copy of Earthdesk which includes high-resolution cloud data. I was just notified that functionally of my fully-paid-for copy will be crippled unless I start paying an annual fee. I already paid, and I did not pay for a crippled version.
Be careful if you're thinking of downloading. I just installed it, and it looked great for a while. Didn't justify the $25, but worked as part of the bundle.
The clouds recently stopped being displayed in HD, and they look terrible in SD. Apparently the person that used to prepare the HD clouds for free is now charging, and Xeric are planning to charge $12 per year for the clouds alone.
We hope to start offering the HD clouds next week. The server side-stuff is almost ready and the changes to the application are fairly simple. The cost looks like it will be less than we anticipated... but it is a huge amount of data... many terabytes per month.
Thanks for the heads up, Edley. That's terrible! They put the app as part of the most recent MU bundle, then the following month start charging $12/year for what used to happen in the app at no additional charge? Something's wrong with the ethics of this business tactic, for sure.
Now looks like the cloud service has been released for $10 per year. I understand the costs involved, but this is simply too high to justify for a background, beautiful though it may be.
I would have preferred a tiered offering, where you could update maybe 4 times per day for $5, 8 times for $10 and maybe 24 times for $15 or something like that. Not everyone wants their clouds to be updated that often, but some do.
Given that I've already paid for the background, I'll be keeping that until I can find a cheaper alternative with clouds, but I certainly won't be spending $10 a year.
Edley, we are looking a cheaper solutions that involve less frequent updates. The clouds are only offered 8 times per day form the satellite station so offering 24 times per day is pointless. We were caught off-guard by this change and had to come up with a solution quickly or else the clouds clouds have simply vanished... we do not own a satellite.
We are certainly open to other suggestions. If you have a reliable host and server that is able to provide between 30 and 50 terabytes per month... roughly 70 gigabytes per hour, at no cost (to match what we had been paying for the data), please do let us know.
I tried the latest version of EarthDesk. How can I remove the milky white in the bottom of map? I've tried the instruction from your website. But deleting the file at ~/Library/Application Support/EarthDesk/Clouds doesn't help at all. I'm currently using 10.6. Thanks.
Can you please contact our support so we can get a screen capture of this? I have looked at the cloud servers and the images are currently ok (sometimes one or more of the satellites transmits a corrupt image). It is working here for me.
I'm seeing this as well on OS X 10.6. The clouds image appears to get corrupted and pixelated at the bottom of the map. The workaround is to delete the jpg at ~/Library/Application Support/EarthDesk/Clouds and then force an update in EarthDesk.
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EarthDesk replaces your static desktop picture with a rendered image of Earth showing correct sun, moon and city illumination.
With an internet connection, EarthDesk displays real-time global cloud cover, allowing users to track hurricanes and typhoons, or simply admire our beautiful planet. User options allow you to adjust the overall transparency of the cloud layer.
Eleven different projections.
Political, enhanced satellite and natural maps.
Zoom from 50% to 400%.
City lights appear at night.
Atlas contains 10,000 cities.
EarthDesk gives you numerous options for configuring the map images placed on your desktop.
EarthDesk fully supports multiple displays and uses very little processor resources, running silently in the background. Universal Binary too!
+4
The deal you have with us is to provide a certain program for a certain price. Many people have taken the opinion that you have taken that price and are now suddenly refusing to provide the service unless we pay more money. Although you have pointed out a loophole that makes it legal for you to do this, personally I am not especially eager to give my money to developers who take the money and find a loophole.
Our original cloud data provider is now charging $36/yr. We've been able to double that detail level (well beyond what we ever offered in the past) for $9.95/yr as an optional service.
We have also increased the detail level of the free cloud service as much as possible... a far better solution than simply ending the service entirely.
We plan to keep improving both free and paid services.
+1
+4
Jumpjim reviewed on 26 Jan 2012
the image data for the maps. We have fixed this for a future release.
It might be released with EarthDesk 6, but is more likely to be sooner."
Nice! We might have to pay extra to fix a major bug in the program having already paid for it, AND paid extra for high-res clouds.. Not impressed :(
+1
The change in v6 will be how the VM system works and will use less memory, but this doesn't seem to be the root cause in your case. I sent you an email to ask about details from Activity Monitor, but have not heard back. Please contact us.
+1
+8
Ok14me21 reviewed on 06 Jan 2012
Today I bought High res cloud images.
Now I am in the haven of clouds ;-)
+1
+19
Wile E. reviewed on 31 Oct 2011
I have never experienced any problems with EarthDesk and appreciate the care that has gone in to its design. There are quite a few configurable options but they are not overwhelming in the manner of some apps that try to offer too much.
Easy-peasey to set up and has been rock solid throughout.
I can't comment on Xeric's support because I have had no need to ever contact them.
+3
+27
Antoinesynopsis reviewed on 31 Oct 2011
+1
If we gave everyone the high-res clouds in 5.8.1 (which are double the data level of 5.8), then we'd have to find a way to pay for 2 terabytes of bandwidth every day... that is something we simply can't do for free.
You are welcome to try out the app before deciding to purchase it. There is a button with will provide a demo of the high-res clouds.
-22
ROFLMAO!
-2
For paid users, we are working on the possibility of doubling the resolution currently distributed. Internal testing is looking good so far and these very high resolution images look fantastic.
For free users, we are looking at ways to increase the resolution somewhat, perhaps at the expense of update frequency.
We welcome your comments here and on our EarthDesk facebook page.
Utilizzeremo gratuitamente le mappe ad alta risoluzione dal sito della NASA.
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L.b.j. reviewed on 24 Oct 2011
+1
+4
My 2 cents...
+1
We do not own the cloud data which is why our license agreement has always stated: "Cloud images are not provided by a source under the control of Xeric Design, Ltd. Image content, accuracy, availability and timeliness are not guaranteed."
If the service were to stop entirely, we are not going to launch our own satellites to replace it.
+1
+3
plainprogrammer reviewed on 03 Oct 2011
+3
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That service stopped about a month ago and we simply can't afford to spend several hundred dollars per day to transfer the data (more than a terabyte per day).
+1
+4
+3
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Edley reviewed on 24 Sep 2011
The clouds recently stopped being displayed in HD, and they look terrible in SD. Apparently the person that used to prepare the HD clouds for free is now charging, and Xeric are planning to charge $12 per year for the clouds alone.
http://www.xericdesign.com/clouds.php
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I would have preferred a tiered offering, where you could update maybe 4 times per day for $5, 8 times for $10 and maybe 24 times for $15 or something like that. Not everyone wants their clouds to be updated that often, but some do.
Given that I've already paid for the background, I'll be keeping that until I can find a cheaper alternative with clouds, but I certainly won't be spending $10 a year.
-1
-1
+7
I tried the latest version of EarthDesk. How can I remove the milky white in the bottom of map? I've tried the instruction from your website. But deleting the file at ~/Library/Application Support/EarthDesk/Clouds doesn't help at all. I'm currently using 10.6. Thanks.
+5
Thank you,
Trygve Inda
President, Xeric Design
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MacBook Pro unibody 15" Intel Core 2 Duo 2,40 GHz
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marceln rated on 04 Feb 2012
ryankearney rated on 03 Feb 2012
kingooq8 rated on 01 Feb 2012
+3
Aaron-T. rated on 15 Jan 2012
+1
Kharntiitar rated on 10 Jan 2012
Welldonemark rated on 22 Dec 2011
+1
Jrgreen rated on 15 Dec 2011
kaispeck rated on 09 Dec 2011
cyber_mdee rated on 08 Dec 2011
keiichilam rated on 05 Dec 2011