A Reality Show for Your Desktop, but There’s a Catch:

Most people consider a person’s desk to be private space, but

“DeskSwap” makes the on-screen desktop public, laying bare its secrets.

The program is essentially a screensaver. But instead of the typical

screensaver fare — slide shows of cute critters and sun-drenched beaches

— the images displayed by “DeskSwap” are desktops.

Including yours. So when “Desk Swap” kicks in, the first thing it does is take

a snapshot of whatever is on your desktop and sends it to Mr. Daggett’s

computer, where it joins a queue of similar images that are then fed back

to your screen. A new one appears every 30 seconds or so.

There is an undeniable voyeuristic allure to viewing other desktops, akin to

rummaging through a co- worker’s papers and finding a pay stub,

medical bill or an incriminating memo.

After taking “DeskSwap” for a spin, Gene Kan, a developer of the

Gnutella file-sharing technology, said: “It appeals to the inner Jerry

Springer watcher in everyone. It was like `Survivor’ or `Cops.’ It’s a new

form of entertainment: reality computing.” New York Times