A Desktop Pond

Hat tip to Jim Neumann over on the DEVONtechnologies blog for pointing me to this neat Mac app, Koi Pond 3D.

This wonderful application turns your Desktop into a beautifully rendered fish pond. Accompanied by optional Asian-inspired music and environmental sounds, the koi languidly swim around your desktop, providing a lovely relaxing atmosphere for your break times. There are ten species of fish and four ponds in the moderately priced version. Additional fish and ponds can be purchased for reasonable prices via in-app purchases. It may not solve all your problems, but it is a beautiful way to give your mind a little rest.

There is a public garden not far from where I live, and it has a large pond with a number of koi carp swimming around in it. My dad loved them, and could have sat there watching them all day. 🙂

The sound effects can be turned off if you want to listen to or watch something else. And it does consume CPU power, so probably not a great choice if you’re on a Macbook and away from mains power, although it can be set to pause when running from battery.

Screenshot of Koi Pond 3D in action.

The graphics and animation are stunning, by the way. The screenshot I’ve taken doesn’t really do it enough justice. The ambient sound effects are very soothing, and mean that even if you’ve got other applications open and covering the amination, the app still does its job.

Highly recommended.