Show us your desktop…

…and we’ll tell you who you are.

Objective of the study

To learn how computer users use their desktops. We invite you to participate.

We started collecting the data on July 3rd, 2008.

Instructions

(Not on Mac? See instructions for Windows and Linux)

  1. Minimize all windows or switch to an unused space.

    We want to see your desktop.

  2. Don't clean up anything! (or it will skew the study)

    We want to see a bit of randomness there! :)

  3. No, it's not a wallpaper contest.

    We're mostly interested in what you keep on your desktop and how you arrange it.

  4. Press Command+Shift+3

    You've just taken a screenshot of your entire desktop. It's been saved on your desktop as Picture 1.

  5. Send the screenshot to showusyourdesktop@gmail.com

    No subject line required :)

    We hate spam as much as you do and we will not share your e-mail address with anyone.

Instructions

(Not on Windows? See instructions for Mac and Linux)

  1. Minimize all windows.

    We want to see your desktop.

  2. Don't clean up anything! (or it will skew the study)

    We want to see a bit of randomness there! :)

  3. No, it's not a wallpaper contest.

    We're mostly interested in what you keep on your desktop and how you arrange it.

  4. Press the Print Screen (PrtSc) key on your keyboard

    The screenshot of your desktop has been copied to your clipboard.

  5. Open Paint

    Start → All Programs → Accessories → Paint

  6. Press Ctrl+V to paste the screenshot onto the canvas
  7. Save the file as 1.png

    File → Save As

    In the window that will open, choose PNG in the "Save as type" box.

    Don't forget where you're saving the file :) If you can't decide, your desktop is a good place to save it.

  8. Send the screenshot to showusyourdesktop@gmail.com

    No subject line required :)

    We hate spam as much as you do and we will not share your e-mail address with anyone.

Instructions

(Not on Linux? See instructions for Windows and Mac)

  1. Minimize all windows or switch to an unused desktop.

    We want to see your desktop.

  2. Don't clean up anything! (or it will skew the study)

    We want to see a bit of randomness there! :)

  3. No, it's not a wallpaper contest.

    We're mostly interested in what you keep on your desktop and how you arrange it.

  4. Press the Print Screen (PrtSc) key on your keyboard.

    You've just taken a screenshot of your entire desktop.

    A window will open to ask you where you want to save it.

  5. Save the file on your desktop.
  6. Send the screenshot to showusyourdesktop@gmail.com

    No subject line required :)

    We hate spam as much as you do and we will not share your e-mail address with anyone.

What happens next?

We will upload your screenshot on Flickr (you will stay anonymous).

We may contact you to ask a question or two about your desktop (tell us in the e-mail if you don't want us to) and, once the study is over, to share the results with you.

Thank you!

Szymon Błaszczyk & Staś Małolepszy
July 2008