There are plenty of wallpaper-changing applications out there, and plenty of them can tap into photo sharing sites like Flickr and Photobucket for access to a plethora of images. Still, not many of them are quite as well-connected as Wally.

Even fewer are cross-platform. Wally, though, is happy to share its background-rotating skills with Windows, Mac, and Linux users alike. It’s built using Nokia’s Qt4 framework and supports an insane number of image sources: local and remote folders (via FTP), and popular photo sites like Flickr, Yahoo!, Panoramio, Pikeo, Ipernity, Photobucket, Buzznet, Picasa, Smugmug, and Bing. You can use any combination of sources you choose by adding and removing them on the settings screen.

Customization options are plentiful, from specifying the delay between image changes to tweaking the size of your local image history store. Images from the ‘net are pulled in based on the search terms you specify – and yes, you can shut off Bing’s adult filter if you want to.

Wally is free and open source, and pre-compiled downloads are available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The project is also mirrorerd over at Sourceforge.

Powering this touchscreen coffee table, is an Apple iBook G4 laptop — display outputs to a 37-inch LCD. Best of all, “everything is self-contained in the table, with the only thing sticking out at all being the power cable.” Video after the break.

While the display isn’t a full touchscreen (it should be), there are six tactile control buttons around the perimeter of the display which allow interaction with the apps on screen.

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Want to protect your keyboard but not with a boring old silicone keyboard skins? The all new line of ProTouch Keyboard Protectors from iSkin delivers both style and protection. The skins are colorful with dual-tone designs. They also feature built-in Microban protection that provides protection from damaging bacteria, stains, and odors. The skins also feature high-contrast key caps, true LED backlight compatibility, and glow-in-the-dark features. The protectors are available for the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, MacBook, and the Aluminum Wired/Wireless Apple keyboards.
Prices range from $24.99 to $34.99.

MiniTask is a free, fast and easy-to-use task management application that helps you with organising your daily todos more efficiently. It supports features like drag ‘n’ drop reorder, alarm timers, printing of pretty task sheets, copying tasks from and to other applications etc.

MiniTask…

• …is FREE! (and available for Windows and Mac OS)
• …is a very lightweight application providing only those features you really need to quickly manage your personal todos.
• …stays out of your way while working but is at your fingertips when you need it.
• …was designed by people who were tired of other too complex and bloated task management apps.
• …is fun and easy to use!

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The final version of XBMC has been out for a while now. The alpha/beta releases were buggy, but this final one, look stable. I’m on my way to switch from Mediaportal after 3+ years of use.

XBMC can be installed on various platforms including Xbox, Windows, Linux or Macintosh computers. It is intended to be used for media PCs (like the Xbox but with additional features) that stream the media to the television but it can be installed on any computer meeting the requirements obviously.

The interface has been designed with usability and wow effect in mind. Links to video, music, images, settings and plugins are available from the main menu. The first three entries lead to similar sections of the media center. The user has to first pick at least one data folder that contains files that can be read by the player. This takes a few seconds at most and it is possible to navigate with the keyboard, mouse or gamepad in the menus.

The media center will pick up metadata automatically but it can also search the Internet for additional information like movie posters, plot summaries or actors.

Plugins enhance the system further. They can add all kinds of new functions to the system like games, communication, news and service integration (Youtube, Apple Trailers, Podcasts).

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