Brainstorm link.

I want to be able to see the beautiful pans of Helsinki etc on desktops without all my shortcuts, widgets etc.

So I propose that someone write an app that does the following.

1. Memorizes all the existing shortcuts, widgets on the desktop.

2. Gets rid of all of them and allows us to see the naked desktop.

3. Is a toggle, so the next time we select it, it restores everything.

I noticed that unchecking views destroys all the desktop shortcuts already, so the job is partly done.

Could you not just leave 1 of the 4 desktops bare, and then 'flick' on over to the bare desktop when you want to oggle your wallpaper?

No, because many of the panoramic views are across different scenes. Leaving one bare would not show the others. If I understand you correctly.

Ah got it.
I tend to pick wallpapers that fit my shortcut/widget layout scheme without obscuring the important parts of the images, or change the layout scheme to accomidate the image.

Sure, me too. But imagine demonstrating a panoramic view to some innocent bystander -- the impact is a lot greater if you can pan back and forth and almost get the illusion that you are really IN Helsinki or whatever. It's a lot better without widgets.

I tend to fill my desktops up with them, and my background is just a repeated night sky shot taken from Death Valley. But if I could disappear them, I would pick something more elaborate as a desktop. Maybe Red Square...

Maybe the real solution would be a decent photo viewing application for the N900 that would do justice for panoramic photos?

I would like to display one of the cool things about my N900: The desktop's capability to display panoramic views. An app that did a brilliant job of displaying panoramic photos wouldn't show anything about my desktop.

Also, the steps I pointed out for doing what I would like to see done look dead easy. Correct me if I'm wrong. Presumably the shortcuts etc are all located somewhere together and could easily be saved temporarily.

Something like what Fences does for Windows desktops: double-click on an empty spot and all icons vanish, repeat and they are back...

the bug causing the widgets to vanish when you reload a theme could become a feature. when you startup they are not loaded either, that could be used for such a button.

I think this should be implemented as a Preview button when choosing a theme or a set of desktop backgrounds.