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.

Upload a photo of your own version on your instant messaging program of choice in the comments. You can attach a photo directly inside your comment. Best submission gets a trip to HR. [Flickr]

Designed to help the planning of the next lunar missions, NASA's LRO will take the most detailed photographic map of the Moon yet, distinguishing features only 3 meters (9.8 feet) wide, which is better than JAXA's Selene and way clearer than NASA's own HD-upscaled images from the 1966's Lunar Orbiter 1.

In theory, that's enough resolution to see the lunar landing sites, so I guess we can expect to see a badly parked rover as soon as the spacecraft passes over it.

Only the Apollo astronauts and Selene—which sent close-up images just before crashing—have relayed photos with more detail than these. However, these weren't taken from orbit.

The rest of the instruments on board the LRO are doing fine so far: On June 19 the Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector—which will look for potential water ice deposits—and the Cosmic Ray Telescope—to test the moon's radiation environment—were activated. Both are working perfectly.

In the next days, NASA will turn on and calibrate the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter—which will create a three-dimensional topographic map of our satellite—as well as the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment—prepared to check the temperature of its surface—and the Miniature Radio Frequency—that will create images of permanently-shaded craters. Another instrument designed to measure "starlight to search for surface ice"— the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project—will activate when all the other instruments complete their calibration process. [NASA]

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]

Google was already forced to blur faces and license plates, but the pile of complaints has resulted in some images being pulled completely. Google doesn't appear to be legally obligated to remove the photos; in a statement, a spokesperson said, "The images you see on Street View are the same images you would see if you were to walk or drive down the road yourself," which is one of those "we're being nice but we don't have to" kind of explanations. Luckily, images will stay up unless Google receives a complaint, so here's hoping some of those entertaining nutballs don't hear of their Street View fame. [Daily Mail]

Photoshaper can be used by anyone with a digital camera and an Internet connection. Basically, the service will take any digital photograph you can send them using their web site, creating a 3D image out of it.

First, to create the 3D information, Photoshaper analyzes the photograph, converting it to black and white. It then uses the resulting picture as a guide to create the 3D layers: Darker tones correspond to thicker parts of the plate, while lighter tones correspond to thinner parts.

The plate is made then using a 3D printer, which lays down multiple layers of resin like an inkjet printer. The resin layers solidify instantly, allowing for more to be printed on top, constructing the 3D out of multiple paper-thin surfaces.

The result is a slab of white resin with a weird, rough surface. When you look at it straight on, it resembles a negative of the original image, but much less defined than a real negative. However, when you look at it through the light, the image appears magically in front of you, with a spooky effect.

At least it is spooky for me. I don't know about you, but this freaks me out. [Sh rugged apeways]

Similar to the manner in which Gigapan created the 1474MP image of the inauguration, Occipital's ClearCam works its magic by creating a composite image using 6 iPhone photos taken in succession. This allows the photo to have the resolution of a 4MP image. And since the UI has infinite multitouch scale, you can zoom in as far as you want (a bit gimmicky, yes, but I did the zoom gesture 50 times, and it took 50 pinches to get the photo back to original resolution).

Essentially, you choose to snap a photo, then it runs off 6 of them into a directory. Then there's a two step process for enhancement. First you hit the button to align the photos, then you hit the button to enhance photos. It takes about 30-40 seconds in total.

Though the resolution is larger, it's worth noting that the image quality does not appear to increase substantially when viewed normally. Instead, the image—especially text—appears a little sharper and readable when zoomed in, and any obnoxious blur is eliminated for the most part. Files sizes are around 2x bigger than the normal image taken with the iPhone camera. Occipital says there's still room to improve as far as enhancement goes, but they need to work on keeping the file size low, first.

In addition to creating 4MP photos, you can also select quick capture mode, which fires off 6 images in 2.5 seconds, selects the best looking one, and discards the rest.

As for deciding to release in Cydia as opposed to the App Store, Occipital felt like the rapid shot mode would be rejected, and they didn't want to remove the feature from the app. So they've turned to the jailbreak community instead.

As mentioned earlier, ClearCam is available now through Cydia, and after a 15-day trial, the full version can be purchased for $10. [Occipital]

Note: Don't take it seriously. It's just a funny image I thought I'd pass along.

It's by Linda Nye from the Exploratorium Visualization Laboratory, and demonstrates the human bloodstream at a level that zooms from blood-vessel level all the way to oxygen atoms binding to hemoglobin, and everything in between.

I find science pretty amazing full stop: but this kind of competition really goes the extra mile to communicate how intricate the world/universe around us is. Check out the link to the National Science Foundation (who ran the challenge) to see more of the entries...you'll probably be amazed too. [NSF via New Scientist]