DeskSwap is a multi-user screensaver program that swaps images of the
user's desktop with others using the software. When the user stops using
their computer, DeskSwap starts as a normal screensaver. It quickly
takes a snapshot of the user's screen and uploads it to the DeskSwap
server. Since screensavers only become active during periods of
inactivity, DeskSwap catches candid images of the user's desktop.

DeskSwap has two modes for swapping desktops. Mode one is a direct "peer
to peer" connection where two users exchange desktops only with each
other. In this mode the two users are aware that they are simultaneously
exchanging images with each other. The second mode is a "round robin"
connection where several users will exchange their images as a group,
cycling through desktops one after another. In this mode users are not
exchanging images directly, rather they exchange as a group.

The computer desktop is a confused zone of ownership and identification.
While the average desktop is dotted with personal files, folders, and
background images, it is still a space that resists personalization.
Because the desktop is tied to the "desktop metaphor" all
personalization or modification takes place within certain guidelines.
These guidelines make sure that all desktops have a similar look. Thus,
most computer users will feel a certain amount of familiarity with other
user's desktops.

Yet this sense of familiarity is also skewed. When the user's desktop is
replaced by another, the shift is at once subtle and extreme. The user
is immediately aware of what they are looking at. They understand the
interface at an intuitive level. However there is another level that
becomes significant to the user, the level of voyeurism.