Click on the image above for a closer look.

T3Desk works on all versions of Windows but it really shines in Vista and above where it can take advantage of Aero. After installing T3Desk you can use keyboard shortcuts to minimize and maximize windows to the edges of your monitor, arranging them in a pseudo-3D fashion. T3Desk can be tweaked in a variety of ways including how the windows are angled, animated, their level of transparency, the apparent distance from the viewer, and how they transition from the virtual desktop back into use.

You can drag windows and dock them to the four sides of the monitor, use Aero Peek to see which windows are on the virtual desktop, and set an always include/exclude list for applications to easily exclude applications from the effects of T3Desk.

Some caveats about T3Desk: the biggest issue is that it won't work with multiple monitors. All 3D windows are pushed onto the primary monitor. Another minor issue is the inability to customize the application's hot keys. Those complaints aside, it works as promised and provides a novel way to arrange and view open applications.

T3Desk is free and Windows only. Have a favorite application for tweaking the appearance of Windows and managing your applications? Let's hear about it in the comments.

Note: The "Full Size" link directly under the picture only shows you the sample image we uploaded for this gallery. You need to click on the name of the particular wallpaper in the right hand column to access the full range of sizes at the source site.

Not keen on the gallery layout? See all the larger images on one page here.

Merry Christmas by love1008



Where Snow Flakes Are Born by Vladstudios



Merry Christmas by sounddevil13



NOEL New Year Wallpaper by Vladstudios



Simple Po Christmas by PoSmedley



Glass Snowmen by 1680



Frosted by Vladstudios



White Christmas by Juggernaut-4



Christmas Green by JackieW



Adorable Snowman by Pockets1987



Snow Puppy 2004 by HybridWorks
Visit site, click on Xmas Gifts in the right hand navigation column. Click on the 2004 set, download.



Merry Christmas by Deeo-Elaclaire



Merry Christmas by chopeh



Holiday Spirit Dual Display by DigitalPhenom



Merry Christmas by ~Teadux



Happy Holidays by MikeyStudios

We realize desktop wallpaper isn't necessarily the most productive thing on the planet, but you spend countless hours at your computer every week, and sometimes a fresh wallpaper is just the ticket for some rejuvenation.

Note: Click on the name of the particular wallpaper to access the full range of sizes at the source site.

(Click any of the images for a closer look.)

Another World by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

Crystal Catacomb by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

Do a Barrel Roll by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

Dogs and Bullets by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

Group Work by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

Sea Battleground by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

Smooth Criminal by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

Toxic Planet by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

Zebes Cave by Orioto

Click on the link above to download a large resolution version.

If you haven't seen Orioto's previous work, be sure and check out the first batch of absolutely amazing wallpapers, and then his second wave of beautiful paintings for your desktop.

If you want to keep up with his work on a regular basis, be sure to follow him over on his Twitter account, where he posts regular updates on new images that he's working on, as well as news about an upcoming video game using his artwork. I don't know about you, but the idea of a video game based on his artwork sounds really great.

Chuck is the embodiment of the dreams of thousands of DeviantArt users—he started out in screenprinting just after high school, worked for t-shirt maker Threadless by day and began creating a name for himself in the online art community by night. Under the pseudonym NoPattern (now the name of his design shop), he achieved incredible success at a startlingly young age: You've seen his work before on projects with Pepsi, Urban Outfitters, Reebok, and many more. My personal favorite has to be the cover art for Lupe Fiasco's fantastic debut album, Food & Liquor:

Today, at only 24, he's achieved a new level of stardom: His designs for Windows 7 will literally be seen by hundreds of millions of people over the lifespan of the OS. Microsoft hunted him down, and it was definitely a good call; Windows 7 is the best-looking Windows OS ever, and its style is reflected in the cool screens designed by Chuck. Check out some of his previous work in the below gallery (including a great graffiti-inspired piece for Zune) to get a sense of his style.

Since he's such an independent guy, I was curious to hear how he managed to collaborate with Microsoft, the tech corporation most likely to have the word "monolithic" as an epithet. Chuck says the actual design team he worked with was quite small and surprisingly open to his ideas. The first thing they showed him back in December 2008 were those glorious Dr.-Seuss-as-read-by-Hunter-S.-Thompson wallpapers, so it was clear right off the bat that censorship wouldn't really be a problem.

The two pieces took about four months, start to finish. Chuck started with a pencil and paper, and moved on to Photoshop for the Windows 7 sheen, but the two pieces retain that sketchy feel—in fact, all the individual threads on the login screen were hand-drawn with a Wacom tablet.

This first gallery shows the stages of the default login screen, the first image to be completed. Later came the default desktop wallpaper and Windows 7's physical packaging, which both have the login screen as their aesthetic jumping-off point. This is where it begins—click on the first thumbnail to read Chuck's own words about how his vision evolved.

The Login Screen

As it turns out, there are a few repetitions of the number seven in the login screen, but weirdly enough, that little Easter egg started out as an accident. Once Chuck and Microsoft noticed that there were seven white strands on the bottom left, they started repeating the number: There are also seven leaves, seven branches, and seven flower petals in the yellow quadrant of the Windows logo.

The default Windows 7 desktop is one of my favorites; usually the very first thing I do with a new computer is replace whatever wallpaper comes with it (Apple is a particular offender here—I hate that cheeseball space motif) and yet I happily left this one on my latest computer.

The Default Desktop

Microsoft sought out this young, independent, mixed media digital artist rather than going through traditional channels, and it resulted in a fresh new look that couldn't have come from another source. It's credit to them, as is the walkthrough itself. You'd never see Apple showing, say, the pieces that mysteriously got tossed aside in favor of that clip-art snow leopard on their latest OS X packaging, would you?

Thanks to Chuck and to Microsoft for showing us their rejects. [NoPattern, Chuck's Twitter]

Note: Speaking of rejects, you might notice that all the screens are capped at 700 pixels in width. It's because Microsoft isn't dumb: They don't want shots they took a pass on becoming the wallpaper of netbooks and PCs all over. Sorry guys, we tried.

All three computers in the package will be preloaded with Windows 7, the full contents of which include:

* Space-saving HP Slimline desktop (s5212y)
* Thin-profile 18.5" LCD monitor (w1858)
* Media-savvy HP laptop (G60-535DX)
* Compact HP Mini netbook (110-1125NR)
* Speedy NETGEAR Wireless-G router (WGR614)
* Seamless in-home setup of the PCs and router by Geek Squad (4000954811)

The desktop features a dual-core 2.5GHz Pentium, 3GB memory, 320GB hard drive and double-layer DVD burner, while the laptop is your standard-fare 15.6-inch HP (320GB HDD, 3GB memory, HDMI-out). The netbook is the HP Mini 110, one of our favorite netbooks. Individually, none of these are really thrilling items, but selling them together for $1200 is a ridiculously great deal. That package would run you over $2000 normally, so if your entire household is in need of an upgrade, this looks like a real winner—certainly one of the best ways to save money with Windows 7 promotions. [Best Buy]

This video examines the benefits and limitations inherent in current mouse-based and window-oriented interfaces, the problems facing other potential solutions, and visualizes my proposal for a completely new way of interacting with desktop computers.

I recommend you watch the whole thing, because he makes some very good usability points—discussing the pros and cons of different UI approaches—before getting into his proposal—which looks beautiful and, more importantly, useful.

I like a lot of the things I see here. I like the way the applications are organized and accessed, combined a modal approach with a stream. I love how he solved the general menu vs application menu dilemma. What I don't like is the idea of having a control surface below the keyboard. I guess we are all used to it, through laptops and trackpads. And he is right that it may be a great way to transition to touch-interfaces for most users—because of that familiarity. However, I would like to see this implemented in a different form factor Both on the go—in the tablet—and in the desktop—in whatever new format the hardware manufacturers can come up with. [10/GUI via Unplggd]

Come by Giz Gallery to see it in person, just be careful, it might eat your head.

As you might expect, the A10 is not powerful enough to be used for anything beyond the basics, but the Atom processor, 1GB RAM and 160GB hard drive put it neatly in that "first PC" sort of range. Pricing has not been announced, but rest assured the obnoxious Hello Kitty branding will probably make what would otherwise be a cheap PC rather pricey. [Akihabara via Ubergizmo]

Like any other alarm clock with dock—compatible with iPod touch 2nd generation, iPod nano 1st to 4th generation, iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod with video and iPod 4th generation—the iLuv iMM153 has built-in speakers and FM radio. Unlike other alarm clocks, however, the iMM153 comes with a small unit that will vibrate to wake you up. At $59.99, it doesn't look bad, but I will need to daisy-chain a few of those if I really want them to wake me up. [iLuv]

• Dongle
• Cookie
• WAP
• Phone jack
• (Nokia) Navi Key
• Time shifting
• Digital TV
• Ethernet
• (Nokia/Others) PC Suite
• Desktop

It's an odd list. Even though the UK loves its Nokias, the inclusion of two proprietary Nokia terms seems innately disproportionate. "Time shifting" was an awkward term to begin with that's specific but antiquated now that "DVR" has taken over. And as for "phone jack" and "desktop," yes, it's disconcerting that laymen don't understand this "jargon," but I can't remember the last time that I used either of these technologies.

So that pretty much leaves "cookie," "dongle," "ethernet," "digital TV" and "WAP" as the terms people need to learn. Please call your grandmothers and inform them as to the proper definitions immediately. [BBC and image]

NASA also released a new image to commemorate the space telescope's 19 birthday. This is Arp 194, a system containing several interacting galaxies with a "cosmic fountain" of stars, gas, dust, and milk shakes that stretches 100,000 light-years.

I don't know about you, but I can't have enough of these. Actually, I think I'm going to sneak into NY's Hayden Planetarium this weekend. [NASA]

The Hub is a landline slayer launched in a wireless world, where the landline is almost dead. It's a fertile garden behind a red-painted wall—red 'cause it's Verizon, har har—found when most people are trying to break down those walls. It's a Verizon Wireless VoIP phone coming about at a time when AT&T is killing their VoIP service entirely. It's the phone we imagined before the iPhone, tethered to our home broadband connection for instant-pizza-ordering awesomeness. In other words, it's a lot of interesting things, appearing in the wrong place and at the wrong time.

That's not to say it's bad. It's just unfortunate. The Hub makes sense in a very specific context: If you're a lock, stock and barrel Verizon customer, from wireless to TV to internet to, obviously, landline phone service. That's where the "Hub" name comes in—it brings a bunch of different Verizon services together in one spot: You can monitor cellphone locations using Verizon's Chaperone, send maps and directions from the Hub to phones running VZ Navigator, and manage a central calendar that your entire family's phones sync to. Eventually, you'll be able to do more, like manage your Verizon FiOS TV DVR. While a minor point, in a sense it's a very sore point with the Hub, since you can already do that from many Verizon cellphones this very second. Why do I need a Hub again?

The garden walls reach their greatest heights when you try to text or picture message to a non-Verizon phone—you can't. The calendar isn't open, using a standard like CalDAV for easy export—it's squarely in Verizonland. A surprising amount of managing the Hub actually takes place on Verizon's website, like uploading contacts (via CSV files) and photos. Thankfully, the Hub's pages are better designed than the rest of Verizon's website—there's legit eye candy in the photo gallery, for instance. And nearly anything you can do on the Hub itself, you can do from the website remotely, like manage voicemail or check your call history. But it's odd you can't do something very simple like upload photos via the Hub's USB port.

It doesn't really matter if there are walls around the garden if you're never tempted to leave. Unfortunately, the Hub isn't enough of an attraction. Pretty much anything you can do on it—buy movie tickets, send text messages, check traffic or watch videos, you can do faster or better on your computer or cellphone. The virtually useless selection of VCAST videos make the average YouTube video feel like HD in comparison, and the "traffic report" isn't a map with live traffic info, but a canned audio briefing from Traffic.com that you have to sit through an ad to hear.

The Linux OS itself isn't particularly a joy. God knows, Verizon's committed some horrible user interface atrocities over the last few years, but at least the Hub's is alright—usable, not mind-blowing. I wish it moved faster. The keyboard is annoying to type on, but it'll get better in the next software update, which adjusts the spacing and adds pop-up letters. A persistent set of buttons on the left gives you constant, instant access to the two main menus: The phone and the uh, menu, where you get to your apps. In the top right corner is the home button, which takes you to the desktop, where your widgets, like for weather, time, voicemail, etc. hang out. Applications tend to have a two-pane layout that's framed by buttons on three sides, which doesn't sound like a problem, but it becomes one since the touchscreen is not so responsive around the edges. I've accidentally called two people at 3 in the morning while trying to press the menu button. Not cool.

Actually, that's one of my more concrete frustrations with this phone: The hardware feels cheap and shitty. The handset, which costs $80 a pop, is a plastic piece of garbage with a shoddy build quality and terrible screen. (It doesn't help that you can't do much from the handset either, like send text messages.) The touchscreen isn't as responsive as it should be, and it distorts with even the slightest bit of pressure, adding to the whole crappy feeling. A screen designed to be touched shouldn't freak out when you touch it. The speakers really harsh, crappy and tinny too. I couldn't stand using it for loudspeaker calls.

There are a few bright points. While the directory isn't as precise as say, MenuPages, it is fairly painless to find a nearby pizza place and call them in a single stroke. The synergistic—I know, that word provokes a gag reflex—stuff works well. Directions quickly went to the Samsung Sway test phone I got with it, which promptly fired up VZ Navigator and pointed to wherever I pointed it. (Too bad VZ Navigator is slow and sucky, but that's somewhat besides the point.) And the call quality itself is pretty good—or at least I sounded "loud and clear" to the people I called.

The brightest light may end up being the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel—the promise that developers will be able to create their own apps for this thing in the future. The included ones, for the most part, just aren't that hot, and some of the newer ones in the pipeline are definitely more head-turning. But it's hard to see how this product can sustain itself long enough to engender a solid third-party developer community. More likely, it'll get slightly better, then go extinct.

It's pretty ballsy to charge $200 for a landline phone with $35/month VoIP service right now, one that does the same thing you can do on an iPhone or G1, but is tied to your desk. Which is a lot of the reason I like it. But it's just as ridiculous to ask that much for a phone that's built with subpar hardware and doesn't live up to its full potential in a world where it's already horribly outmoded. Time was up two years ago. [Verizon]

More specifically, it includes GeekTool (system stats), icalbuddy (calendar), Bowtie (iTunes), and Lynx (weather). Impressive work. [Flickr via Lifehacker]

It's a 24-incher with a 1080p resolution (the only real size for all-in-ones anymore), with a built-in TV tuner and Blu-ray recorder. Beside the Windows 7 ready multitouchness, not a whole lot of specs yet (like what specific processor and graphics), just that it'll hold up to 2TB of storage. It's nice looking though! And, uh, Windows 7 Windows 7 Windows 7 Windows 7.

If you can peer past the completely uninspired case, the actual specs are far more likely to induce some sweaty palms: Nehalem quad-core Xeon 5500 processors, two Nvidia Quadro 5800 graphics cards, and room for 196GB of RAM. A beast. So why can't it look more like one, or even the Z4 that it's supposedly inspired by? [DVICE]

Yes, I do believe all cheap consumer electronics should signify their cheapness with tons of color, but you know, nice-looking color. Pay more, get less (color). It makes sense, right?

FASHION MEETS FUNCTION WITH NEW INSPIRON FAMILY, DELL MAKES IT EASY TO CUSTOMIZE LIFESTYLE AND DÉCOR

· People Have Complete Control of Power, Color and Size

· Fresh ID and vibrant colors express personal style and complement any environment

· Custom configurations to meet performance and budget

ROUND ROCK, Texas, March 30, 2009 – Style-minded families, students and teens want to personalize their PCs to meet their performance and lifestyle needs – blogging, chatting, sending photos or running a media center. Highly-stylized products, like Dell's new Inspiron slim and mini-tower desktops, deliver on design and customization, transforming the brand from the "built- for-me" model, into "made-for-me."

Dell's new Inspiron slim and mini-towers expand the design and personalization possibilities for consumers. Available in eight vibrant colors, Dell is the only major consumer desktop manufacturer to offer such extensive personalization options to reflect individuals' personal style or to complement their bedroom or study.

Inspiron slim and mini-tower desktops debut today in China and are available for purchase through Dell.com, distributor Digital China or retailers Suning and Gome. Starting at $299, the systems will be available worldwide later this spring.

The News:

· Dell's new Inspiron desktop lets people express themselves through choices of color (eight options), size (slim or mini-tower) and configuration.

· Vivid color palette to express your personal style: Piano Black, Pure White, True Blue, Formula Red, Tangerine Orange, Spring Green, Plum Purple and Promise Pink.

· Dell becomes the only major consumer desktop manufacturer to offer color options for the entire front of the machine.

· Customizable options to meet individual's budget, lifestyle and usage needs.

· Ideal for common tasks including email, Internet, blogging, entertainment (movies, music and casual gaming) and productivity.

· Features available on the new Inspiron desktops include:

o Intel® Celeron®, Intel Core™ 2 Duo and Intel Core 2 Quad options or AMD Sempron™, Athlon™ X2 and Phenom™ X4 processor options

o Integrated Intel or ATI Radeon™ graphics* on select systems with discrete graphics options available

o Up to 8GB* memory on select systems

o Up to 750GB* storage (slim tower) or up to 1TB* storage (mini-tower)

o Optional 19-in-1 media card reader and optional HDMI connectivity

o 6 USB ports (2 front, 4 back)

o Dual optical options (mini-tower only) including Blu-ray Disc™ drive

o Small form factor with its versatile horizontal or vertical placement is designed to easily fit into your home media center (slim tower only)

[Dell]

Mandolux, which we've highlighted before, has a ton of amazing wallpapers, many of them designed for multiple monitors. It's not the most intuitive site to browse through, unfortunately, but 20 minutes wandering around there is pretty rewarding.

While we're at, where else do guys get favorite wallpapers? [Mandolux]