Thomas Brand on Apple's choice of wallpapers:

You don’t have to be a Mac user to appreciate a good desktops pattern, but the attention to detail Apple takes towards choosing a default wallpaper means excitement for Mavericks will build long before it hits the shore.

What I like best about the Mavericks Wave photo is not the photo itself, but that the photo is bright. The space photos were gorgeous, but dark. I like bright images because they feel light — they feel happy — and this Wave photo does just that.

(Of course I change my wallpaper automatically based on the time of day, so that my eyes aren't seared by blinding brightness late at night.)