Whether you are working to beat a deadline or just kill a lot of zombies, losing track of the outside is easy. EarthDesk, especially if you have multiple displays, is a great way keep an eye on the world beyond your Mac.

Xeric Design has released EarthDesk 6 and, among other things, this whole number update is OS X Mountain Lion compatible.

What’s new:
• All new city database with additional data
• Displays the current sun and moon positions
• Displays grid lines (graticule) on the map
• Creates named collections of settings (presets)
• Adjustable slider for night shadow darkness
• Tracks the International Space Station
• New Globe and Azimuthal positioning controls
• Additional moonlight shading options
• Reorganized user interface improves usability
• Pinpoints user-selected cities on map
• Updated political map with current borders
• Supports adding, editing and removing of cities
• Ready for Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8)
• Faster performance and lower processor usage
• Up to 75 percent less memory than previous versions
• Improved appearance in Mission Control
• Supports modern machines with dual GPUs
• Supports MacBook Pro Retina Display systems

Previously, EarthDesk would noticeably slow down my 2007 iMac with 3GB RAM and that issue now appears to have been fixed. Also, though I could be misremembering, this version is the first to include the city where I live — Erie, PA — and being included is always a nice touch.

And, cool, the sun just came up over Spain as I wrote this — EarthDesk is always interesting and fun.

EarthDesk 6 is shareware ($24.95) and can be downloaded here.

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— Apple releases updated OS X voice packs
— How to: Make an OS X Mountain Lion install disk, DVD or USB
— Mountain Lion games: Company of Heroes, Civ 5 discounted