Post your desktop backgrounds (Intel version)

[B S Magnet]

Me like these night time neon pictures.
Reminds some works of :
fiftyfootshadows.net
His recent works are more nature subjects (very nice too), but if you check in the past posts ( i could spend hours browsing in there), he has done some beautiful night time city picts.

Nice find. Thanks for sharing the link!

You pinpointed two of the three themes across all my desktops: nighttime (dusk included) and neon/artificial lighting at night. The third theme: all were shot with film — either with Kodachrome, Ektachrome, or Fujichrome Provia. And all are emblematic of the respective cities where they’re located.

 

[eyoungren]

It's hypnotic.
But I think I'd be afraid to be sucked on the other side in the swirling plasma, staring too long at that setup.

Also, a flightsim would be a thing to try here, the screens almost matches the cockpit windows of a DC-3

View attachment 1806990

Well…at least I know it's creating the effect I intended! LOL!

 

[hodad66]

 

[eyoungren]

Decided to change the wallpaper on the tv. Typically I have Nightingale or iTunes open on this display and playing/streaming ambient music so I think this fits better.

 

[eyoungren]

Fliqlo.

It was a nice surprise discovering how the screensaver adapts to vertical displays.

 

[Amethyst1]

how the screensaver adapts to vertical displays.

Perfectly

 

[B S Magnet]

Fliqlo.

It was a nice surprise discovering how the screensaver adapts to vertical displays.

View attachment 1813548

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

[retta283]

This is my WIP desktop on Mavericks. I'm planning to add more colors and gradients and it will constantly change for an animated background effect. I may also make a dark version of this. Sorry that the video is so laggy, but you get the idea...
Static screenshot for those that cannot see the video:

 

[bobesch]

Fliqlo.

It was a nice surprise discovering how the screensaver adapts to vertical displays.

View attachment 1813548

Impressing. But that setting at work would certainly give me a heart attack at the usual 1038) 'o clock rush-hour ...
YMMD 😅

 

[Jack Neill]

 

[MultiFinder17]

View attachment 1827138

These are the voyages…

 

[Jack Neill]

These are the voyages…

I really wish the new Trek had been better, but I don't care for anything from Bad ReBoot/Kurtzman. I miss some good ole fashioned Trek.

 

[eyoungren]

I really wish the new Trek had been better, but I don't care for anything from Bad ReBoot/Kurtzman. I miss some good ole fashioned Trek.

I was okay with the first one, although I think it could have had a better plot. I get tired of time travel being used as Deux Ex Machina to solve plot problems or used to generate a plot. The second suffered from rehashing old themes while making attempts to say "see we're the new Star Trek, we can do this better than the old Star Trek"! Throw in an unnecessary scene (Alice Eve undressed) and it just became so-so.

I think part of the problem is that JJ Abrams gets excited and just goes with stuff without thinking it through. He's already admitted that part of the problems with the Star Wars sequels was the lack of an overall cohesive plan. I think that's probably what was missing with the Star Trek reboot movies. It seems they were trying more for shock than actual story or good drama. Maybe they were just being over ambitious, IDK.

I never saw the third reboot Star Trek. Once I read that Justin Lin was involved I immediately thought "Oh, Fast and Furious in space!" And indeed, that's the comment Simon Pegg made about it's marketing at one point.

All of that said…I saw Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in the theater. I cannot believe I paid for a ticket to that movie. And after seeing Star Trek Generations in the theater it was obvious to me that they were treating the TNG movies as extended TV episodes.

I am not a fan of Berman and Braga.

 

[B S Magnet]

I was okay with the first one, although I think it could have had a better plot. I get tired of time travel being used as Deux Ex Machina to solve plot problems or used to generate a plot. The second suffered from rehashing old themes while making attempts to say "see we're the new Star Trek, we can do this better than the old Star Trek"! Throw in an unnecessary scene (Alice Eve undressed) and it just became so-so.

I think part of the problem is that JJ Abrams gets excited and just goes with stuff without thinking it through. He's already admitted that part of the problems with the Star Wars sequels was the lack of an overall cohesive plan. I think that's probably what was missing with the Star Trek reboot movies. It seems they were trying more for shock than actual story or good drama. Maybe they were just being over ambitious, IDK.

I never saw the third reboot Star Trek. Once I read that Justin Lin was involved I immediately thought "Oh, Fast and Furious in space!" And indeed, that's the comment Simon Pegg made about it's marketing at one point.

All of that said…I saw Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in the theater. I cannot believe I paid for a ticket to that movie. And after seeing Star Trek Generations in the theater it was obvious to me that they were treating the TNG movies as extended TV episodes.

I am not a fan of Berman and Braga.

OK, bracing for the dust-up here:

I find the most tolerable of the Rick Berman/Brandon Braga series to be Deep Space Nine; the least, replete with insufferable theme music penned by Diane Warren, being Enterprise (I still grimace every time I think about any of it). More recently, I’ve grown to really like Discovery, but Picard? Not so much. I find Lower Decks to be silly, but in a fun way.

More hot takes: JJ Abrams really should have stuck to a singular focus of developing for television, as it seemed he finally got the hang of bringing things full-circle and to a meaningful close with Fringe. Instead, he seemed to stretch his resources far too thin around the time he took on Star Trek and Star Wars, in addition to a series of other short-lived shows (a couple of which, like Almost Human or Alcatraz, could have really gone places, whilst others, like Believe, Revolution, and that goofy roadie series, were best left to short, singular seasons).

Them’s my bad takes and I’ma stick to ’em. Let the rumble begin.

EDIT: [:clearing my throat:] Star Trek III is fundamentally a better story and film than Star Trek IV and I have already died on this hill several times before. Star Trek II was a high water mark for the original six films, while Star Trek V was, far and beyond, the worst. Star Trek VI was… not bad, maybe on the same level as III. I generally concur with you, @eyoungren , how the TNG films were basically glorified episodes with the added bonus of starkly cinematic lighting. Generations was meh and more a nostalgia bridge than anything more, while I found First Contact to be borderline unwatchable, especially once the Steppenwolf was cued in (as a gentle, but cheap nod to all the boomers in the audience). I barely remember Insurrection, and Nemesis felt like more make-work than a story.

OK, y’all may roast me even further.

 

[Jack Neill]

Trek for me ended with Enterprise, I haven't liked anything released since. I do think the Discovery is a cool looking ship, just a terrible show...

 

[DouglasCarroll]

OK, bracing for the dust-up here:

I find the most tolerable of the Rick Berman/Brandon Braga series to be Deep Space Nine; the least, replete with insufferable theme music penned by Diane Warren, being Enterprise (I still grimace every time I think about any of it). More recently, I’ve grown to really like Discovery, but Picard? Not so much. I find Lower Decks to be silly, but in a fun way.

More hot takes: JJ Abrams really should have stuck to a singular focus of developing for television, as it seemed he finally got the hang of bringing things full-circle and to a meaningful close with Fringe. Instead, he seemed to stretch his resources far too thin around the time he took on Star Trek and Star Wars, in addition to a series of other short-lived shows (a couple of which, like Almost Human or Alcatraz, could have really gone places, whilst others, like Believe, Revolution, and that goofy roadie series, were best left to short, singular seasons).

Them’s my bad takes and I’ma stick to ’em. Let the rumble begin.

EDIT: [:clearing my throat:] Star Trek III is fundamentally a better story and film than Star Trek IV and I have already died on this hill several times before. Star Trek II was a high water mark for the original six films, while Star Trek V was, far and beyond, the worst. Star Trek VI was… not bad, maybe on the same level as III. I generally concur with you, @eyoungren , how the TNG films were basically glorified episodes with the added bonus of starkly cinematic lighting. Generations was meh and more a nostalgia bridge than anything more, while I found First Contact to be borderline unwatchable, especially once the Steppenwolf was cued in (as a gentle, but cheap nod to all the boomers in the audience). I barely remember Insurrection, and Nemesis felt like more make-work than a story.

OK, y’all may roast me even further.

What….no love for Star Trek the Motion Picture???

Seriously, the older I get (51 presently) the more I love this movie, and I really didn’t like it when I saw it in the theatre’s as a kid in the late 70’s.

I just feel like I “get it” now when I didn’t then. I love sci-fi movies that treat space exploration in a more realistic way…as in “Outland”, “Alien”, “2001”….and yes “Star Trek the Motion Picture”

My guilty pleasure I guess….

 

[Jack Neill]

What….no love for Star Trek the Motion Picture???

Seriously, the older I get (51 presently) the more I love this movie, and I really didn’t like it when I saw it in the theatre’s as a kid in the late 70’s.

I just feel like I “get it” now when I didn’t then. I love sci-fi movies that treat space exploration in a more realistic way…as in “Outland”, “Alien”, “2001”….and yes “Star Trek the Motion Picture”

My guilty pleasure I guess….

I actually feel the same way, I became to love Trek as a kid and never really got TMP it was so much different than 2-6. It has since grown on me as well.

 

[B S Magnet]

What….no love for Star Trek the Motion Picture???

Seriously, the older I get (51 presently) the more I love this movie, and I really didn’t like it when I saw it in the theatre’s as a kid in the late 70’s.

I just feel like I “get it” now when I didn’t then. I love sci-fi movies that treat space exploration in a more realistic way…as in “Outland”, “Alien”, “2001”….and yes “Star Trek the Motion Picture”

My guilty pleasure I guess….

I didn’t mention The Motion Picture for any negative reasons!

I saw it in the cinema as a kid and it mostly went over my head at the time. Around 2009, when the renewed HD print was released, I watched it again and found it to be cinematic in the best possible way. I very much appreciate how this film premiered the leitmotif that would become associated with The Next Generation.

In relation to the subsequent films, I feel it’s sort of a standalone for a bunch of reasons — its story, the styling, the pacing, the especial attention to the Enterprise retrofit and its bugs, and so on. It is very much a film of its moment, austere in that post-2001: A Space Odyssey kind of way (which carried over into Star Wars and also Alien). In a way, I regard it as the Generations of the original series — bridging the TV series with The Wrath of Khan and all the cinematic productions to follow.

I do want to say, however, that the guy they cast for Captain Decker still doesn’t sit well with me. I found him annoying as a kid, and I found him annoying as an adult. I also kept thinking during the first viewing how he looked a lot like John-Boy from The Waltons, good-night.

 

[Jack Neill]

I didn’t mention The Motion Picture for any negative reasons!

I saw it in the cinema as a kid and it mostly went over my head at the time. Around 2009, when the renewed HD print was released, I watched it again and found it to be cinematic in the best possible way. I very much appreciate how this film premiered the leitmotif that would become associated with The Next Generation.

In relation to the subsequent films, I feel it’s sort of a standalone for a bunch of reasons — its story, the styling, the pacing, the especial attention to the Enterprise retrofit and its bugs, and so on. It is very much a film of its moment, austere in that post-2001: A Space Odyssey kind of way (which carried over into Star Wars and also Alien). In a way, I regard it as the Generations of the original series — bridging the TV series with The Wrath of Khan and all the cinematic productions to follow.

I do want to say, however, that the guy they cast for Captain Decker still doesn’t sit well with me. I found him annoying as a kid, and I found him annoying as an adult. I also kept thinking during the first viewing how he looked a lot like John-Boy from The Waltons, good-night.

My parents liked 7th Heaven and I hated that show, I thought it was so lame and fake. So I didn't like him either. Also he's admitted to sexual misconduct with minors. So theres that..

 

[eyoungren]

OK, bracing for the dust-up here:

I find the most tolerable of the Rick Berman/Brandon Braga series to be Deep Space Nine; the least, replete with insufferable theme music penned by Diane Warren, being Enterprise (I still grimace every time I think about any of it). More recently, I’ve grown to really like Discovery, but Picard? Not so much. I find Lower Decks to be silly, but in a fun way.

More hot takes: JJ Abrams really should have stuck to a singular focus of developing for television, as it seemed he finally got the hang of bringing things full-circle and to a meaningful close with Fringe. Instead, he seemed to stretch his resources far too thin around the time he took on Star Trek and Star Wars, in addition to a series of other short-lived shows (a couple of which, like Almost Human or Alcatraz, could have really gone places, whilst others, like Believe, Revolution, and that goofy roadie series, were best left to short, singular seasons).

Them’s my bad takes and I’ma stick to ’em. Let the rumble begin.

EDIT: [:clearing my throat:] Star Trek III is fundamentally a better story and film than Star Trek IV and I have already died on this hill several times before. Star Trek II was a high water mark for the original six films, while Star Trek V was, far and beyond, the worst. Star Trek VI was… not bad, maybe on the same level as III. I generally concur with you, @eyoungren , how the TNG films were basically glorified episodes with the added bonus of starkly cinematic lighting. Generations was meh and more a nostalgia bridge than anything more, while I found First Contact to be borderline unwatchable, especially once the Steppenwolf was cued in (as a gentle, but cheap nod to all the boomers in the audience). I barely remember Insurrection, and Nemesis felt like more make-work than a story.

OK, y’all may roast me even further.

I more or less agree with you. Where we differ a bit is with Enterprise. But first, DS9. That was a great show, but somewhere in the third season or so I tuned out. Braga had a penchant for introducing sexual themes where they weren't warranted I think. I am no prude, but there were a couple of episodes of DS9 where that was a central theme and that wasn't the reason I was watching DS9. So I checked out.

Seven of Nine was also Braga's creation. Whether you want to believe recovering from the Borg implants excuse for the catsuit or not, the character was (as created) an intent to drive ratings. Same thing happened later on with T'Pol on Enterprise. Now, Seven of Nine turned out to be a decent character later on and T'Pol's character development was a major reason I was drawn to Enterprise - but…Braga.

Then you had Rick Berman and the ******* move he pulled with Terry Farrell. Sexual themes have always been a part of Star Trek. Sometimes it was even overt in the classic series. It may have even been used as a ratings grab. But it wasn't a part of major plot archs.

Now to Enterprise. Jolene Blalock's portrayal of T'Pol is what drew me in. T'Pol had a code of honor, but an underlying vulnerability and strength that eventually Archer was able to see and appreciate. It is very much a shame that the studio and the writers did not treat that character with the respect and development I believe was her due. Jolene Blalock has also said as much. But beyond that there was a lot of stuff the studio and the writers did wrong with that show. By the time they figured it out, it got cancelled. And the final episode was just tragic crap.

For the record, the intro was hideous. I usually just fast-forwarded and if I couldn't I muted the TV until it was over.

 

[eyoungren]

Trek for me ended with Enterprise, I haven't liked anything released since. I do think the Discovery is a cool looking ship, just a terrible show...

I was going to stick with Discovery based on what I'd heard. The showrunner and other officials had been saying they'd fill in gaps around Enterprise and classic Trek.

Then they decided to jump into the future. That whole time travel thing I mentioned earlier. They didn't want to deal with the intricacies of manuevering around established cannon so they just went far forward so they could create their own and not have to deal with that.

So…I stopped watching.

 

[B S Magnet]

I more or less agree with you. Where we differ a bit is with Enterprise. But first, DS9. That was a great show, but somewhere in the third season or so I tuned out. Braga had a penchant for introducing sexual themes where they weren't warranted I think. I am no prude, but there were a couple of episodes of DS9 where that was a central theme and that wasn't the reason I was watching DS9. So I checked out.

Seven of Nine was also Braga's creation. Whether you want to believe recovering from the Borg implants excuse for the catsuit or not, the character was (as created) an intent to drive ratings. Same thing happened later on with T'Pol on Enterprise. Now, Seven of Nine turned out to be a decent character later on and T'Pol's character development was a major reason I was drawn to Enterprise - but…Braga.

Then you had Rick Berman and the ******* move he pulled with Terry Farrell. Sexual themes have always been a part of Star Trek. Sometimes it was even overt in the classic series. It may have even been used as a ratings grab. But it wasn't a part of major plot archs.

Now to Enterprise. Jolene Blalock's portrayal of T'Pol is what drew me in. T'Pol had a code of honor, but an underlying vulnerability and strength that eventually Archer was able to see and appreciate. It is very much a shame that the studio and the writers did not treat that character with the respect and development I believe was her due. Jolene Blalock has also said as much. But beyond that there was a lot of stuff the studio and the writers did wrong with that show. By the time they figured it out, it got cancelled. And the final episode was just tragic crap.

I mean, T’Pol is probably the sole redeeming quality of that series, but as a series, Berman was a one-trick producer, and by year 14 (the year Enterprise began), I was exhausted with it.

Separately, it wasn’t just Berman who was gross and even predatory toward folks behind the camera. Gene Roddenberry himself was horrific toward women on set, and Shatner’s treatment toward Takei, especially during their later years, is also callous. While I’m grateful Star Trek exists, that gratitude is always tempered whenever I reflect on the dudes-as-showrunners who’ve sullied things for other folks on set who simply do not deserve sexual abuse, flagrant misogyny, or homophobia, ever.

For the record, the intro was hideous. I usually just fast-forwarded and if I couldn't I muted the TV until it was over.

As for the theme, a fun little story:

About ten years ago, back when I was still on Twitter, I made some tweet to the effect that Holly Knight was a far better pop songwriter than Diane Warren, adding how Knight’s lyrical themes were empowering and feminist-forward, while her melodies, as instrumentals, were solid, whereas Warren’s lyrics were frequently, “I’m nothing without my man” themes and her melodies were often sickly sweet (Knight and Warren were huge songwriting rivals back in the day). “Better Be Good to Me”, versus “Unbreak My Heart”, or “Love Is a Battlefield”, versus “I Didn’t Want to Need You”, or “Hanging on a Heart Attack” versus “Blame It on the Rain”. (I mean, you gotta blame it on something.) The Angel theme versus the Enterprise theme. I could do this for hours.

About an hour later, who else should appear in my mentions but Warren herself, taking great umbrage with this! (Sidebar: until then, I wasn’t even aware she was even on Twitter.) After about three back and forths between us (she was maaaaaad), the exchange ended, but I’d be fibbing if I didn’t find myself struggling to keep a straight face the entire time (I was sitting in a university library and my laughter would have gotten me thrown out).

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Nothing better to kill the story and its brand than lazy, stupid writers. I grew up on TNG and original Star Trek reruns. When Enterprise was on network television, I was working through its airtime, so never got to see it. Wasn't till years later and Netflix that I watched it for the first time and loved it. After Enterprise, I haven't seen any ST that wasn't either completely screwed up with shouldn't be mash-ups because d00d - time travel or cringeworthy "the way it aught to be" virtue signaling.It's pretty tragic how Enterprise was handled and how it ended. It could have been so much more and as is was a fantastic "prequel" addition to the brand.

I'll admit to enjoying the new reboot of JJ Star Trek. I think it is over sexualized and the line JJ runs between horny college dorm manboy and valiant space explorer is kinda off puting but I do enjoy the cinematics of the reboot and the character redos I think are pretty clever. A great example of this is when Chris Pine meets McCoy and he explains how starfleet is all he has left after a nasty divorce where his exwife "took the planet - everything except for his bones". Another would be the quick intro back story on how James T Kirk came into the world and his Dad's role in that. Little things like that have kept the reboot entertaining, despite the time travel barfed all over it.

I also enjoyed the backstory of Spock's youth. That alongside the few windows into Spocks relationship with Sarek in TNG really helped to flesh out that dynamic between the two and help understand his choice to enter Starfleet vs the Vulcan Academy. Time travel abuse aside, The big screen reboot hasn't been horrible. It would be really neat to see the Vorgons or the Traveler (that woud be a cool re-entry point for a matured Wesley Crusher as well) pop up as they are already established time travelers in the ST universe.

 

[eyoungren]

Nothing better to kill the story and its brand than lazy, stupid writers. I grew up on TNG and original Star Trek reruns. When Enterprise was on network television, I was working through its airtime, so never got to see it. Wasn't till years later and Netflix that I watched it for the first time and loved it. After Enterprise, I haven't seen any ST that wasn't either completely screwed up with shouldn't be mash-ups because d00d - time travel or cringeworthy "the way it aught to be" virtue signaling.It's pretty tragic how Enterprise was handled and how it ended. It could have been so much more and as is was a fantastic "prequel" addition to the brand.

I'll admit to enjoying the new reboot of JJ Star Trek. I think it is over sexualized and the line JJ runs between horny college dorm manboy and valiant space explorer is kinda off puting but I do enjoy the cinematics of the reboot and the character redos I think are pretty clever. A great example of this is when Chris Pine meets McCoy and he explains how starfleet is all he has left after a nasty divorce where his exwife "took the planet - everything except for his bones". Another would be the quick intro back story on how James T Kirk came into the world and his Dad's role in that. Little things like that have kept the reboot entertaining, despite the time travel barfed all over it.

View attachment 1827522

I also enjoyed the backstory of Spock's youth. That alongside the few windows into Spocks relationship with Sarek in TNG really helped to flesh out that dynamic between the two and help understand his choice to enter Starfleet vs the Vulcan Academy. Time travel abuse aside, The big screen reboot hasn't been horrible. It would be really neat to see the Vorgons or the Traveler (that woud be a cool re-entry point for a matured Wesley Crusher as well) pop up as they are already established time travelers in the ST universe.

The reboots had some good lines too I think…

Of course:

Your father was captain of a Starship for 12 minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mother's and yours. I dare you to do better.

and

Christopher Pike:
That's a technicality.

Spock:
I am Vulcan, sir. We embrace technicality.

Christopher Pike:
Are you giving me attitude, Spock?

Spock:
I am expressing multiple attitudes simultaneously. To which are you referring?

I also think that the captain of the Kelvin departing his ship knowing he was facing certain death was a classic Trek example of putting his duty to the ship first.

 

[Jack Neill]

My last wallpaper post stimulated some great conversation. I'll post another one.