I'm not sure it's quite the direction I want to take Silk, but thanks for sharing -- I never thought about using desktop images for a pragmatic purpose such as that.
http://webcvs.freedesktop.org/xorg/data/bitmaps/
In the past I've read analysis/explanation regarding the various test images, why they were created and how they should be used, but that was a very long time ago. You'll probably need to do a bit of digging to find such information.
Pure beauty is commendable as well as commonly desirable. Pure function is also commendable but far less commonly desirable. A blend of both is often superior to either.
I think would be unwise to cater function solely towards people doing debugging since it would severely limit the market, but making something both gorgeous and useful will have a stronger appeal than just gorgeous.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3590/3621951455_9632ff862f.jp...
Apparently root weave was done away with in X11R7.5, who knew? (Can still be enabled with the -retro flag.)
Congrats on a very slick web app, btw. Often when I see a project posted here I think to myself, "I could have done that, but am too lazy." :-) However, your idea is highly original and superbly executed. Well beyond my ken, not that that means anything.
The "probably" up there makes me sad; I miss my Linux desktops.