Expert’s Rating
Our Verdict
Many year ago , one of the things that first attracted me to the Mac were its customizable desktop patterns . walk past the machines in the lab , the unique facial expression to each Mac ’s desktop was a definite center - catcher . Fast - forward some number of yr , and screen background are no longer design , but gorgeous full - color image that can be automatically commute at sure intervals .
While this eye confect gain it more pleasant to gaze at our Monitor all twenty-four hours , there is one downside — desktop ikon can sometimes be obscured , specially by desktop pictures that are lighter in tone . EnterDeskCover , a free syllabus that adds a customizable background knowledge behind the icon on your background .
Some screen background images ( top ) make it hard to discern the desktop icons . With DeskCover running , though , the icons are clear visible ( bottom ) .
Some desktop images (top) make it hard to discern the desktop icons. With DeskCover running, though, the icons are clearly visible (bottom).
When active , you ’ll see a DeskCover icon in your menu stripe ; click it to open up the program ’s preferences or to stop the program — and that ’s it as far as the functionality in the menus . The taste screenland is n’t much more complex . Here you specify the colour to fill behind the desktop icons , whether or not to use a gradient fade to that color , the color and thickness of a border line at the edge of the satiate - in color , and against which boundary of the screen you ’d like to anchor the fill colour . opt a color schema you wish , and that ’s it .
DeskCover is n’t just a static background signal , though . As you move icons onto and off of your background , DeskCover is always watching . If you add an icon that creates a new column of ikon on the background , the size of it of the background ikon mechanically adjusts to the necessary width — and it does so with a subtle but prissy animation . About the only thing that tripped up DeskCover was when I used the Finder ’s preference panel to change which ikon were shown on the background . When I sum all my gruelling drive , DeskCover did n’t recognize the new - summate row of icons . Simply toggle a modification in DeskCover ’s preferences , though , get the supererogatory row to be place , and the background cover then expanded as necessary .
DeskCover is n’t ample on feature article , but it does n’t have to be . It does one thing , does it very well , and you ca n’t beat the terms .
require to stay up - to - date with the latest Gems ? contract up for the Mac Gems newssheet for a hebdomadary e - mail summary of Gems revue send straight off to your inbox .
[ Rob Griffiths is a senior editor for Macworld . ]
