Flickr user d_carr wanted a workspace that was minimal, but sprung to life when it was time to get some work done, and didn't want to sacrifice looks to do it. Well, mission accomplished—the combination of a beautiful wallpaper, a few Rainmeter widgets, and auto-hidden launchers is both minimal, functional, and easy to recreate.
The version above is cropped a little bit from the original screen resolution, but we'll get to what the final product looks like a little later. If you're looking for a similar look and feel, here's what you'll need:
- The Enlightenment wallpaper from InterfaceLift
- The Rainmeter system management and configuration tool for Windows
- The Encoded skin for Rainmeter to create the time and weather widgets
- The iPhone Clock 2.0 skin for Rainmeterto create the date widget
- The Google Bar for Rainmeter for the transparent search bar in the upper-right corner of the screen
- StarDock ObjectDock to replace the Windows taskbar at the bottom of the screen
- The Token icon pack for ObjectDock
- RocketDock to add an extra application launch bar to the left side of the screen
- Select icons from Flurry-themed icon packs for RocketDock
While the snapshot above is a cropped version of d_carr's workspace with everything hidden away so he can work, here you can see the full version with all of the toolbars visible. I think is still looks great, and the combination of both ObjectDock at the bottom and RocketDock on the side is actually well matched, although most people tend to use one or the other. Oh, it's also worth noting that d_carr did all of this in the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, although all of the tools will work just as well in Windows 7.
If you like what you see and want to set it up for yourself, check out our guide to Rainmeter to get started, or just drop by d_carr's Flickr page to let him know that you like his work!
If you're a Mac user, you can get a similar feel on your desktop with GeekTool and our getting started guide to using it. If you're a Linux user, the Conky system utility is your best bet to do something similar.
Do you have a gorgeous, productive, informative desktop you'd like to see featured at Lifehacker? Post it to the Lifehacker Desktop Show and Tell Flickr Group, and please include a description of how you made it. You never know, it may be the next featured desktop!
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