I once ran across a web page where someone was showing off screenshots
of
their desktop (maybe Active Desktop) which showed along the bottom a
number of webcams from around the world ordered from left to right as
they are on a
globe.  I don't remember what was in the middle of the page, maybe a
map or more webcams.  The idea was that they could watch as the sun
rose and set
around the world.  I think there were also basic insturctions of how
to create your own version of the desktop.  I've been unable to find
that page since.  I probably ran across it on either memepool,
boingboing, or metafilter.
I've tried searching though and I'm unable to find it.  Does anyone
know where I can find this particular page?

I was unable to find the original post you were looking for regarding
a specific desktop setup.

However, I found a couple of other items that may get you to the same
end.

Your quickest answer may be an application called WebCams Tourist:

http://www.allpicturez.com/webcamstourist/download.htm

This application allows you to customize WebCams you would like to
view, and includes a very long list of webcams organized by category.

The software allows you to save webcams as an Active Desktop, and teh
utility is very easy to use -- I had 4 global weather webcams running
on my Active Desktop in less than 5 minutes.

An article from PCWorld.com published in a Yahoo Tech Center (hard to
tell what Yahoo! brand applies to this page) has a detailed tutorial
on customizing an Active Desktop. It includes a brief section
specifically dealing with WebCams:

"To embed a live Webcam object in your Active Desktop, open the New
Active Desktop Item dialog box and enter the URL for the Webcam.
You'll find a number of interesting links at EarthCam.com, including
views of the Earth from space; feeds from aquariums, night clubs, and
zoos; and images of the traffic in many U.S. cities. If you're an
on-the-go commuter, you may want to check out the Etak Web site and
install one of their real-time traffic maps."

The article goes on to detail adding information, saving the file, and
how Windows saves the information.

http://pcworld.shopping.yahoo.com/yahoo/article/0,aid,39962,00.asp

Search strategy used:

active desktop webcam
screenshots of a computer desktop with world webcams
webcam desktop applications

Also site specific searches for same terms on boingboing.net,
metafilter.com, memepool.com

I also downloaded and installed the WebCams Tourist demo application

a_butler-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by mavenz99-ga on 03 Sep 2003 15:39 PDT

I had already run across something similar to WebCams Tourist in my
own searching.  I know how to configure Active Desktop.  I know how to
run searches on boingboing.net, metafilter.com, and memepool.com.  I
had done so already, as I stated.  I am looking for a particular page.

---

Clarification of Answer by a_butler-ga on 04 Sep 2003 11:58 PDT

I think it's sage to say the particular page you are looking for has
drifted into obscurity, or has disappeared altogether. Can you give an
idea of when you saw this posting?

I spent a fair amount of time digging thru the archives on Boing
Boing, Memepool, and Metafilter. I also searched at Kuro5hin and
Blogdex for similar material.

If you can provide any more information about when you saw it, or
other details, please post them and I will try again.

What you are looking for was posted on memepool:

http://www.memepool.com/Search/index.cgi?terms=worldview

The page no longer exists.  It was a very cool idea though.

A simple google search of "worldview desktop" will also return several
blog postings that talk about the site.

You found it!  The link on memepool was dead, but I was able to get a
cached version of most of the page from the Wayback Machine.  Thanks
so much for finding it!

- Matt