Having changed and simplified its pricing for Next G mobile broadband services back in August and then launched prepaid options in September, Telstra has now made further modifications. Dan Warne at APC reports that Telstra has increased the download allowance on its $89.95 plan from 3GB to 5GB a month, and introduced a casual use plan offering 200MB a month for $29.95, which only requires a 12 month commitment. Perhaps more significantly, on its 5GB and 10GB plans, it has dropped excess usage fees in favour of shaping to 64Kbps. All that makes Telstra better value, but still the most expensive option around — though given its coverage, there is an element of ‘you get what you pay for’. If you’re looking to get a 3G broadband service, don’t miss our guide to choosing the best 3G broadband deal.
[APC]Using results drawn from Windows Live Search, newly-launched search prototype U Rank customises results and share them with others. The project from Microsoft Research is still in development, so bugs are to be expected. It looks like it could develop into a useful tool for group research projects particularly. For individual users, it automatically saves searches privately, and you can choose to share your customised results with others. The site requires registration with a Windows Live ID, and as ReadWriteWeb points out you can’t move search results between pages. It’s a welcome sign of innovation from Redmond, but I’ll be sticking with emailing lists of links to folks for now.
U Rank [Microsoft Research via ReadWriteWeb]Popular online feed reader Bloglines has fixed that pesky problem where feeds from thousands of sites weren’t updating, according to an announcement today. [via]
Several Lifehacker readers have written in recently asking if there’s any useful local webapps for comparing interest rates and credit cards, so the arrival of Mozo is likely to be greeted with some enthusiasm. The site lets you compare offers on home and personal loans, savings accounts and credit cards, offering a ‘top 5′ list in each category and then allowing you to find options that best match your own requirements. Registration is optional, but allows you to save your list of offers and other details for faster searching. Research commissioned by Mozo to coincide with this week’s launch of the site suggests that Australians are increasingly disillusioned by the major banks. The top 5 rated banks for overall service and product range were Bendigo Bank, Members Equity, Bank of Queensland, Suncorp and BankWest. That ratings information, based on a survey of 3,000 people, is incorporated into the site, and you can offer your own opinion to be added to the overall scores. Give Mozo a spin and let us know of any good deals (or glitches) you find in the comments. Mozo
Hello, my name is Jackson West, and I feel like the least likely person ever invited to write for Lifehacker right about now. Because I am a deeply, deeply lazy person who couldn’t budget and schedule my way out of a wet paper bag. However, I have managed to survive in the wild with an otherwise debilitating lack of work ethic, and I am here to pass my wisdom in the many and varied arts of shirking which I have mastered over the years. For instance, did you know that there’s a little bit of magic on the shelves of your local drugstore that goes by the name “Cup O’ Noodles?”
Weblog SimpleHelp details how to NirCmd —a command-line app that can turn off your monitor, empty your Recycle Bin, change the system volume, and more—in conjunction with Launchy to put more functionality at your fingertips. In a nutshell, the post details how to create simple batch files with NirCmd functions and then index those commands with Launchy. That way all of the cool functionality built into NirCmd is accessible with a few keystrokes. While the post focuses on integrating NirCmd with Launchy, the idea could be extended to any application launcher of your choosing. While you’re at it, check out how to integrate Launchy with Wget. How to integrate NirCmd with Launchy to enhance productivity [SimpleHelp]
New webapp Co-op makes keeping track of who’s working on what within a small, distributed group easy. Kind of like a private Twitter for small organizations, you post to Co-op what you’re working on and see everyone else’s updates in a news stream down the page. Made by the same folks who built the Harvest time tracker (our review), Co-op can also calculate how many person hours were spent on a particular project. Co-op also lists what was worked on yesterday, and what’s currently being worked on today. Fans of the television show Mad Men will appreciate the screenshot after the jump, which shows Co-op in action at the fictional Sterling Cooper ad agency.
Unlike watching television—which generally reduces conversation between family members in the home—more than 50% of people who live with a spouse and child are likely to surf the web together and share things online with one another according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. (That makes two “the internet can be good for you” stories in one week!)
Windows only: Free application Calibrize holds your hand through a simple three-step monitor calibration to ensure on-screen colours look the same from computer to computer. Once you’ve run the application and adjusted the colour profile to its specifications, Calibrize saves the profile and automatically installs it on your system so the right colour profile always loads up. It’s quick and simple, especially if you don’t know much about screen calibration to begin with. For a no-download alternative, check out previously mentioned Screen Check. Calibrize is freeware, Windows only.
Calibrize
