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Undertoad · 02-20-2012, 11:33 PM

OK. Some ideas are not just limited to the phone.

Live wallpaper: imagine your wallpaper background, animated. On a desktop PC, this might be bad; movement attracts your eye's attention. But on a phone, a light ripple of movement makes everything look just a little more interesting.

I found the Beautiful Live Weather Wallpaper, and I love it. It looks something like this (this is not from my display):

What you don't see here is how the leaves of grass gently sway, and the clouds gently move across the screen; and it's all done very tastefully, very Japanese, if you know what I mean. It's subtle enough to be natural.

But the great thing? The scene changes to reflect your actual outside weather. Right now, at midnight, the moon is up; the display is a dark blue with stars, and the grass at the bottom is dark and colorless. It reflects real sunset and sunrise times.

And when it rains, drops of water land on your display and roll down it as if it were a window.

I can't wait for it to snow. Our mild winter has only enabled a few flurries. I need to see this wallpaper when it's snowing. I think I could convince it I live further north. But that wouldn't be zen. Best to let nature happen and I will see the different display when I see it.

I always imagine the cynics pointing out that, hey, you could just look at the window and get a real indicator of what is going on outside. That is SO not the point. The point is, having a tasteful, changing background is a really cool thing AND if it's going to be all that, having it reflect the actual weather is natural and human.

02-20-2012, 11:33 PM	#5
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	OK. Some ideas are not just limited to the phone. Live wallpaper: imagine your wallpaper background, animated. On a desktop PC, this might be bad; movement attracts your eye's attention. But on a phone, a light ripple of movement makes everything look just a little more interesting. I found the Beautiful Live Weather Wallpaper, and I love it. It looks something like this (this is not from my display): What you don't see here is how the leaves of grass gently sway, and the clouds gently move across the screen; and it's all done very tastefully, very Japanese, if you know what I mean. It's subtle enough to be natural. But the great thing? The scene changes to reflect your actual outside weather. Right now, at midnight, the moon is up; the display is a dark blue with stars, and the grass at the bottom is dark and colorless. It reflects real sunset and sunrise times. And when it rains, drops of water land on your display and roll down it as if it were a window. I can't wait for it to snow. Our mild winter has only enabled a few flurries. I need to see this wallpaper when it's snowing. I think I could convince it I live further north. But that wouldn't be zen. Best to let nature happen and I will see the different display when I see it. I always imagine the cynics pointing out that, hey, you could just look at the window and get a real indicator of what is going on outside. That is SO not the point. The point is, having a tasteful, changing background is a really cool thing AND if it's going to be all that, having it reflect the actual weather is natural and human.