KOSOVAR1  EarthDesk is such a resource hog, I'm sure it would benefit from being rewritten as a 64-bit program. About once a week, there is a temporary defect in the downloaded cloud cover graphic function, which mars the desktop appearance. The solution seems to be to delete the cloud graphic file and let the program re-download it from scratch. Other than this, I think the feature set is fine and it makes a dynamic and fascinating desktop for my 24" iMac.  
(Version 5.1)

SYROSL  just bought this app ten days ago, so far so good, but adding a little cocktail to it will be appreciated, like showing temperature or weather information, I think I'm not alone for this opinion, so waiting for another upgrade, and look forward to some new features from the dev..

btw, it's a good app and it worths the money. :D   
(Version 5.0.2)

BHOFF  I'm still not upgrading until the author adds weather/temperature data.  
(Version 5.0.2)

EARTHDESK  There is a setting to control this behavior in the Display Tab. You an either leave the last generated image on the screen, or remove it to restore the original desktop.  
(Version 5.0.1)

DCANNIS  With the latest versions (5.0.1)when I stopped Earthdesk the background turn with the map still loaded.

MacBook Pro unibody 15" Intel Core 2 Duo 2,40 GHz  
(Version 5.0.1)

MC_SHIZZEL  With the latest versions (5 and 5.0.1) I've noticed that sometimes the background will either turn black or white with the map partially loaded.  
(Version 5.0.1)

KOSOVAR1  I contacted the developer and was surprised to receive a response within two hours, along with the aforementioned (by Xeric Design) beta of EarthDesk attached. I installed beta 2 of version 5.0.1 and Voila! cloud images display now perfectly. Xeric Design's website references the known bug, although the wording there was much vaguer than how the developer explains it here. I'm living in Germany, using a brand new iMac running OSX 10.5.7 with the english module active, but with the international preference pane setting for German numbers formatting. That appears to have been the problem, but once again, EarthDesk works now without any further tinkering. Now that it works and because it seems the upgrade might be a bit snappier than version 4, I'm doubling my previous the rating, but especially for the super-fast email support.  
(Version 5.0)

KOSOVAR1  I've always liked this program when it worked. It worked well for a couple of years after I first bought version 1 or 2 (?). Then I upgraded to version 4, but it was months before I could get it to display satellite cloud images. Everything else worked OK, except for it drawing a bit heavily on system resources and being sluggish. Yesterday I upgraded--fool that I am!--to version 5 in spite of my past headaches with EarthDesk. Since then I've spent hours trying to figure out why, once again, the cloud image won't display. Since the time I was having problems with version 4 of EarthDesk, I'd switched from a Powerbook Pro 17" to a new iMac 24" and OSX version 10.5.7. The preference pane confirms "Cloud image downloaded:" with a specific date and time, but it also displays "Cloud image captured: Never" So what does this mean? I've already repaired permissions, reinstalled the preference pane, discarded the old cloud image manually and waited for the re-download, removed the old preference files, restarted, tinkered with preference pane settings, restored system permissions, over and over, and still no clouds. I am going to contact the developer again, and wait for his advice on something I haven't tried already.  
(Version 5.0)

AAANOUEL  Too heavy...

My 4Mgb RAM used more than 50% on it.

So I got rid of it.  
(Version 4.8)

KOSOVAR1  After purchasing and using EarthDesk for a couple of years, it simply stopped working on my notebook as of a month ago. I've tried every problem-solving trick I know (including re-installation), but EarthDesk just sits there displaying nothing. Before this, Earthdesk worked perfectly and was a very nice program which has become useless on my MacBook Pro running 1.5.4.   
(Version 4.3)

AWT  Requires a lot of memory, uninstallation prodedure provided only on support developers site. Better would be a, uninstaller as you have to go through user and home libraries, delete caches, preferences and so on. Anyway nice to look at sometimes.  
(Version 4.0.1)

PETR1  YES! Untill now the EarthDesk used to be the only breath-taking software like this.

But since OSX Planet was launched couple of day ago am afraid EarthDesk will lose many customers. I mean have a look for yourself at http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/13521

It's showing not only earth and clouds, but satelittes, storms, earthquakes and all planets. It's just freaking ahead of EarthDesk. Sorry.  
(Version 4.0.1)

XERICDESIGN  80MB of this is a cache on disk that will be purged if other apps need the space... the rest depends on the number as resolution of your displays.  
(Version 4.0.1)

_RONDYKES  not too stoked w/ this paid upgrade. just paid in sept for 3.x license now have to pay again? will stay with vesion 3 for now, there are really no new features anyway.  
(Version 4.0.1)

AMBERV  I really like the quality of the image that EarthDesk puts out. It feels a lot nicer than the competition. However, this last "upgrade" seems, well, pointless? I'm not so sure I dig the move to a preference pane. What is the rationalisation for this? It isn't a system level task. If they merely wanted to get it out of the dock, a menu controller would have sufficed. So, I've got one more thing cluttering up system preferences. Meanwhile, now that it is no longer a regular application, if it crashes I have to load up Activity Monitor to fix it.

There is no way I would have paid for this upgrade. As it is, I got it because I *just* bought a 3.x license a week ago. Now, I wish I had kept the DMG for the 3.x version, because I rather liked it better.

There is nothing -- nothing -- upgraded except for where it runs from. Everything else as far as I can see is feature for feature identical.  
(Version 4.0.1)

UMIJIN  I really dislike the way this update is announced/distributed without any clear indication that owners of previous versions have to purchase an upgrade license.

There's no indication of it on the install .dmg. Worse, when you type in your old serial number, there is no indication of why it doesn't work. The only way one can find out that he/she has to purchase the upgrade is that you have to dig on the xeric website to find it.

Regardless if this is intentional or not, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth for owners of the previous version.

I purchased ED version 3.5.5 earlier this year, and frankly I'm not sure having a pref panel version of the same app is worth the upgrade price. I doubt I'm the only one who feels this way.  
(Version 4.0)

XERICDESIGN  EarthDesk 4.0 can be used as a screen saver. You need to point your screen saver to use the proper folder. Instructions are on our site at:

http://www.xericdesign.com/support_edsk.php  
(Version 4.0)

JMGRIFF  I bought EarthDesk v1.0 and then the paid upgrade to 3.0, and I like the program a lot ... but I cannot see why I would pay $10 to upgrade again to v4.0 ?   
(Version 4.0)

ERICOB  Now, if this could be activated as a SCREEN SAVER, I could get interested... my desktop is so cluttered I'd barely be able to see the map.   
(Version 4.0)

RICKMOEN  Version 4 requires a new serial number. Haven't seen if there's an upgrade price, but my version 3 number won't work, so the reminder message goes across the screen. Trying to uninstall now.  
(Version 4.0)

GRYPHONENT  Moving the app into the system preferences is truly not enough for me to warrant the upgrade price of $10. I had high hopes for new features such as marking places I’ve been on the map... suggested almost a year ago. Albeit, version 4 is the same old and not much new. Will have to think ahrd before upgrading.  
(Version 4.0)

MUSICPENGUY  Wow!

This is such a great product. I got this through the MacHeist and can't believe how I lived without out. This is an incredible piece of software. It is definitly worth the 20 dollar price!

This is a true macgem of software!   
(Version 3.5.5)

DRTYRELL969  This is a really neat product, but $19.99 is just a price I can't justify for something that creates ZERO dollars and LOW entertainment for my business or home. Maybe at a stretch $9.99 would reduce it to an impulse buy item, but when I get any casual game on the market for $19.99 and play it for a month, there is no way this product behinds to contend with that value. Great job, but too pricey IMO.  
(Version 3.5.5)

JSHOP  OSXPlanet 1.0 is now out and really rocks! You might try that instead since it's free.  
(Version 3.5.3)

GAZMAN  Yeah, nice trial version! (sarcasm) It centres the map over your home city then straight across the middle of you desktop it writes in huge letters "NOT REGISTERED - evaluation purposes only" with the result that this is plastered right over where you want to watch. Fair enough if the developer wants to put this somewhere on the trial screen but putting it where it is has turned me off this program.  
(Version 3.5.3)

ANONYMOUS  Great program... Everything looks great but try as I might I can't get the clouds to appear. Suggestions?

I'm using version 3.0.1 (unregistered) but I've tried some of the earlier versions on my computer a while ago (maybe they left behind bad preferences files or something...?)

Any (constructive) help would be appreciated.

Thanks!  
(Version 3.0.1)

ANONYMOUS  Been using EarthDesk for a couple years. It's a lot cheaper than those $2000 clocks you can buy at the clock shop which do the same thing, and it looks great on the 23" Cinema Display.

When OSXPlanet had the cloudcover, I was envious, but I tried it for a while and had serious crashing problems. This was about 9 months ago, so I don't know if it ever improved -- the instability for a couple weeks of trying put me off, and I went back to EarthDesk which worked great, but missed the clouds.

Then 3.0 came out, and now I have my happy clouds. I like the differing views that you can choose, as well as the moon effect, and the fact that you can alter the update frequency. Mine's set to every 15 minutes, because let's face it, it doesn't need to be THAT up to date, and it takes a lot less CPU.

It seems to be a bit memory hungry... I had it running for a couple days and saw it was taking up 80 MB of physical RAM. This may not be a leak (Activity Monitor or Top are NOT perfect indicators of memory usage, as the OS can cache things), but it seems a bit more than I'd seen in the past.

Two thumbs up!  
(Version 3.0.1)

WJB3  Thought of another feature I'd love to see - how about being able to animate motion of the cloud cover, much like we see on our local weather channels. You'd have to have a fast processor, but it'd be a great feature.  
(Version 3.0)

NICKY  In all fairness, I have to upgrade my assessment of this program, even if I still think it's a bit overpriced. I finally got it to work after finding that I'd overlooked the deletion of one folder that had been created by version 2. (It usually pays to read the tips that are found in the tech support area on the product website.) Anyway, the desktop graphics with 50% cloudcover are pretty stunning.

I still wish I could somehow zoom into the graphics so this could be also be used as a reference tool. Also, the developer might consider an installer program option that would remove all the legacy files that prevent version 3 from working.   
(Version 3.0)

ANONYMOUS  Aloha,

This is a fantastic update! EarthDesk has always been the best of this class of applications and 3.0 takes it all to another level. The maps, which already had the highest resolution, are now at an even higher resolution, absolutely stunning. And I love the zoom feature, allowed to 400%.

But this release is all about the clouds and EarthDesk 3.0 handles them with aplomb. It simply looks gorgeous and the image download times, even on dialup, are very fast.

I'm running ED on a PowerMac 1.25 ghz G4 with 10.2.6 and it runs very well. I find myself minimizing all open windows and gazing at the beautiful living images on my desktop.

Is it worth the money? Yes, and the upgrade fee is only $9.95 for us existing users. I believe future updates w/in 3.X will be free. Yes, OSXPlanet is free, but it's written by a teenager who has parents to pay the bills. EarthDesk is written by a professional programmer and the level of polish and function, which move EarthDesk to the head of the class, are very evident.

I've tried them all, EarthDesk is still #1.  
(Version 3.0)

NICKY  The 3.0 upgrade price of EarthDesk is half again the price of version 2, which seems to me rather steep to me for a program with no practical application and especially when there are several free alternatives that do pretty much the same thing. EartDesk is pretty and a bit entertaining, so I didn't balk at paying $20 originally. There's just one problem though: 3.0 doesn't work on my Aluminum PowerBook running 10.3.8. It's just been sitting there for days spinning it's little beachball, even after the usual restarts, permissions fixes, deletion of preference files, etc. I'd suggest that the next version have some sort of zoom and label functions so that a user could at least use it as a reference and learning tool. But for now, I think that the developer should just concentrate on making the darn thing work.  
(Version 3.0)

WJB3  This is an upgrade for me from version 2.7 Prior to the upgrade I would have given the nod to the free OSXPlanet, but this upgrade makes the price worth it. Graphics are stupendous, and cloud rendering pulls it all together into a very realistic graphic. Well worth the asking price.

I would like to see an opposing globe image. Since the globe is the most accurate rendition, I'd like to be able to view the entire earth that way, instead of just half.  
(Version 3.0)

XERIC DESIGN, LTD.  Actually EarthDesk supports several features that OSXPlanet does not:

1. Accurate Moonlight (very noticeable on the clouds and in North Africa).

2. More than 4 times the map detail.

3. Support for multiple displays.

4. Additional map projections.

5. Political map.  
(Version 3.0)

MICHAEL KAUFMAN  A very nice program. Too bad it is the exact same feature set as OSXPlanet (http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/13521), which is free.  
(Version 3.0)

ANONYMOUS  great app, well thought out but it took a while to load the desktop picture and you're missing Sheffield, United Kingdom from the city list!!!  
(Version 2.7.1)

ANONYMOUS  This is a great application! I tried the offerings from other software companies, and EarthDesk is clearly superior, especially in terms of resolution and clarity. DesktopEarth was giving me a headache because of blurriness.

All EarthDesk needs is the addition of real time clouds. One could make a case that in its current state it's worth $15 instead of $20, but if you're a map lover like myself, the extra $5 is paid happily, especially for the sharp images. The developer obviously worked hard to produce a quality product.

I have Earth Desk set up so it displays where the sun is rising at all times across the world and rotates automatically as the sun makes its way across the planet. Too Cool!  
(Version 2.6)

STARRY NIGHT  Great program! Not worth $20 though. The irony is that if they lowered their price to $10 - $12 their registrations would triple and they'd make more money. When a useful program like MacJournal is offered for free, it's hard to justify $20 for a novelty like this.....  
(Version 2.6)

TRYGVE INDA  Recently it came to our attention that the price listed on this page was in error. At our request, MacUpdate has fixed the listing (Thanks guys!).

We value our customer feedback (send us an e-mail if you like), and make strong efforts to price our products fairly... providing good value to our users while earning us a profit so we can reinvest money in the company. Thanks to all of those who have supported us over the years!!  
(Version 2.6)

ANONYMOUS  Use OSXPlanet. It's FREE, and quite lovely.  
(Version 2.6)

DARN IT!  agree with bugaboo - lovely app but it isn't worth the asking price.... a tenner, maybe!  
(Version 2.5)

BUGABOO  Great program!!!

but come on - the price??? wow... :-(  
(Version 2.5)

SLAVEZERO  I am... definitly not mad at this program. Don't know how to say it any beter. It does what it says. One  
(Version 2.0.3)

MIKEWELSH  Alright! EarthDesk has evolved from fairly interesting desk wallpaper into an extraordinary application that shows multi-faceted views of Earth from different projections. This one has to be seen to be appreciated. Well worth the small upgrade fee. Kudos to the developer.  
(Version 2.0)

ANONYMOUS  This is definitely a high-quality product. Although $20 may seem a lot to pay for a mere wallpaper program, the quality of the Earth images and the variety of display options available make it a worthwhile purchase. The author does watermark the display until you register, but you'll still be able to play with all the features to your heart's content.  
(Version 1.2.5)