AveDesk is an application that will give you the possibility to have icons on your desktop which could update themselves.
Each icon is in fact a desklet, a little plug-in that can virtually do anything. A desklet can be just a regular shortcut, a mail checker, a calendar, a clock, etc.
It depends on the imagination of the desklets programmer.
Also, the user can set a large amount of properties for each desklet: alpha level, drop shadow, grayscaling, label style, etc.
Currently, AveDesk is totally compatible with Object Dock dockets. This means that you can use docklets that were made for Object Dock as your icons.
P.S. This program is FREE