Incline Village, Nevada – Xeric Design today announced EarthDesk 5.1, an update to its award-winning, real-time dynamic desktop map, for Macintosh OS X. EarthDesk 5 was entirely rewritten in Cocoa, adds many new features and is compatible with both Leopard and Snow Leopard. Version 5.1.1 fixes a stubborn bug that caused partially downloaded cloud images to be displayed, resulting in a milky white area across the bottom portion of the map.

EarthDesk replaces your static desktop with an image of the Earth showing current sun, moon and city illumination, as well as real-time global cloud coverage, allowing you to track hurricanes and other weather systems on your Macintosh or Windows desktop.

The software operates silently in the background, keeping your desktop updated while you work. Unlike a screen saver, which only appears when your system is idle, EarthDesk’s dynamic desktop is continuously displayed as your desktop background (and optionally as a screen saver).

Major new features introduced in EarthDesk 5:
* Faster rendering, lower processor usage, more robust and a cleaner interface
* Seasonal maps, with snow and vegetation levels changing month-to-month
* Supports higher resolution map and cloud data on large displays
* Adjustable brightness and background color
* Starfield background option
* Updated political map now displays city lights and/or moonlight
* Supports dual GPUs controlling a single screen as with the new unibody Macs
* Checks for updates automatically

Other improvements in EarthDesk 5:
* The globe projection can now be positioned anywhere on the screen
* EarthDesk now properly handles monitor attach/detach while running
* When overlaying desktop pictures, the image aspect ratio is respected
* Original desktop restored upon quit, including periodic picture changing
* EarthDesk now displays details of the cloud capture date and time
* The evaluation watermark in the unlicensed version is now softer

EarthDesk 5 is a full rewrite, with many internal improvements:
* EarthDesk’s rendering engine has been fully rewritten in Cocoa
* 32/64 bit application and ready for Snow Leopard
* No dependence on older Carbon or QuickDraw technologies

Pricing and Availability:
EarthDesk 5.1 requires Mac OS X 10.5 or newer. Single user copies may be purchased online for $24.95 (USD). Upgrades are available for $12.95 for licensed users of version 4 and $17.95 for licensed users of versions 1, 2 and 3. For more information and to download an evaluation version, please visit Xeric Design online. Editorial Review copies and high resolution screenshots are available to qualified persons upon request.

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Xeric Design, based in Incline Village, Nevada, is a leader in global time and mapping software. Its flagship product, EarthDesk, for both Macintosh and Windows, is enjoyed by users in more than 140 countries.