
As a cartographer / cartophile you need something on your computer desktop that screams “Maps!” Technically,
Desktop Earth isn’t it since it is a compilation of remote sensing images but this will be the closest you come.
Download a wallpaper generator that will display an image of the earth on your desktop according to the time of day and year. The download file is a hefty 34 MB and expands to 110 MB once installed. This only runs on Windows so Linux and Mac users will have to content themselves with
an image generated from a web-interface.
By way of
La Cartoteca and
Very Spatial.
Linux (and Windows) users have xplanet. It is highly configurable and works fine.
Mac users (and Windows too) can try EarthDesk to get a similar effect... with real time clouds... all updated as often as once a minute. http://www.xericdesign.com where you can download a free trial version.