GNOME's floating background software subtly alters the color and appearance of the desktop over time, gradually evoking a sense of change without being immediately noticeable.
One of the best things about this program is that it doesn't use much processing power. It sleeps most of the time and doesn't have any complicated computations. The way it works is by relying on Nautilus (or a similar application) to paint the background using the color set in the gconf key /desktop/gnome/background/primary_color. GFloatbg periodically updates this key to change the color.
While the program doesn't have any buttons or menus, it does have one downside: it can only be stopped by killing it. This could be improved with a nicer user interface, but I understand that it's just a simple joke.
GFloatbg starts with a random color and changes it over time by moving through a HSV-model of colors. The HSV-model describes colors using three parameters: hue, saturation, and value. The hue stands for the tint of a color, saturation stands for the brightness, and value stands for the intensity.
Every 10 seconds, the hue is increased by 1 degree and the saturation is changed by a sinus over the hue. The value remains fixed. The default values are set to visit all pastel tints, but they can be customized if desired.
Overall, I found GFloatbg to be a great alternative to traditional wallpapers. It's easy to use and doesn't use up too much processing power. If you're looking for a subtle and gradual change to your desktop, I highly recommend giving this program a try.
Version 0.1: N/A