Windows< only: Proxy Switcher Lite is a tiny application that allows you to easily choose between proxy servers without having to open the settings panel. The application runs in the system tray, providing a context menu that switches the current connection with a mouse click. Once installed, use the Show Manager panel to add in your proxy servers. (Use the "Notes" field in the properties screen to give you proxy a friendlier name.) This simple utility has been an essential tool in my kit ever since I learned how to encrypt my web browsing with an SSH SOCKS proxy to give me some privacy while browsing at work. Proxy Switcher Lite should work perfectly whether you're using Internet Explorer, Opera, or any application that relies on the Windows proxy settings. Firefox users, check out the previously mentioned FoxyProxy extension.
Proxy Switcher LitePopular Firefox extension Ubiquity—which adds a natural language command line to Firefox—sees a significant update today. The extension, developed by the folks at Mozilla, now boasts a killer new look, faster performance, improved stability, and more relevant results. If you’re really gaga for Ubiquity, the new version even allows user to create their own skins. If you’re new to Ubiquity and want to get a better idea of what commands it can perform, check out Ubiquity Herd to browse and install new commands. Ubiquity is a free download, works wherever Firefox does.
Major Ubiquity Update [Mozilla Labs]Another one for our watch out for mobile broadband rip-offs file: David Neiger at APC reports that many Virgin customers who have used their phone as a modem have been shocked to receive large bills after being charged a high-priced casual data rate of 1.5 cents a kilobyte. VIrgin customers can purchase a more reasonably priced data bundle at $15 for a gigabyte, but as Neiger points out, that’s still more expensive than almost anything else on the market. (The company claims prices will drop shortly; we’ll see.) As always, the golden rule is to check the conditions very carefully before using your mobile as a data device.
Mobile broadband at just $15,728.64 per GB anyone? [APC]Ever spend hours downloading content off BitTorrent to find that what you downloaded wasn’t close to what you wanted, or—worse yet—it contained a virus? Wouldn’t it be nice if your BitTorrent tracker verified every torrent? BitTorrent tracker Vertor verifies, scans, and previews BitTorrent downloads so you don’t end up with viruses or bum downloads. It does so by downloading every torrent it finds and scanning the files for viruses. If the download is a video, Vertor takes extracts stills from the video and posts them on the site so you can get a better idea of the content and quality of the download in question. According to the Vertor stats, the tracker has processed 418,000 torrents in change. Of those 418k, 133,000 are verified, 2,930 were infected, 5,585 were password protected, and 257,000 contained some sort of download errors. Of course, you’ll never see the bum torrents on Vertor, which is the whole point. The site is brand new, and though it appears to be working through some growing pains—they’re updating their antivirus software for more accuracy, for example—it’s a great idea. Previously mentioned Seedpeer took a similar approach to eliminating bad torrents, but Vertor’s larger feature set looks promising.
Vertor [via CyberNet]If you’re all about reaching Inbox Zero, you’re probably used to immediately archiving an email once you fire off a reply to someone. With Gmail Labs’ new Send & Archive feature, it’s a no brainer. To enable Send & Archive, just head to the Labs tab in Gmail’s settings, enable Send & Archive, then apply your new settings. As the developer behind Send & Archive points, out, hitting Tab then Enter is all it takes with the new button. It’s quick, it’s simple, but it’s also very handy. Undo support for messages you didn’t intend to archive will be added soon.
New in Labs: Send & Archive [Official Gmail Blog]iPhone/iPod Touch/Windows Mobile only: Free wireless mobile synchronisation service NuevaSync has updated with full support for multiple Google calendars, including sync for read-only holiday or shared calendars. NuevaSync gives you over-the-air synchronisation using your mobile device’s built-in support for Microsoft Exchange, and acts as a pass-through gateway to your Google Calendars and Gmail contacts with support for updating directly from the device. The new updates also give you separate colours per calendar, and you can choose which calendars you don’t want to synchronise. The new updates might make it worth another look. NeuvaSync is a free service, works on any phone with Exchange support. Thanks, Daniel!
NuevaSyncGoogle adds transit layers to Google Maps today, helping the money-saving commuter crowd find their way around a handful of supported cities across the globe. To begin with, the transit view is only available to 59 cities, including:
Microsoft’s first Windows 7 Beta patch fixes an MP3 bug responsible for corrupting MP3s imported into Media Centre or Media Player or whose metadata was edited in some other way. Just grab the appropriate download for your system from the Microsoft support page for the bug, install the patch, and you should be aces. If you’ve experienced the corruption issue, the same page suggests that you may be able to restore corrupted files by right-clicking the file, selecting Properties, and using Windows 7′s file versions list to restore to a previous version of the file. [via Gizmodo]
Windows only: Simple Directory Analyzer provides a full range of tools for examining files and folders. Drill down through your data with a variety of filters to see how your space is being used. Simple Directory Analyzer uses a drag and drop interface to load directories, a time saver if you’re already staring at the folder you want to analyse and don’t want to browse through the directory tree in the Select Folder dialogue box. Once you drag a directory you want examined into the main window, you can apply filters based on size, file type, modification date, and more (you can even include sub folders) for a more detailed look at what’s going on in that folder. Simple Directory Analyzer provides additional tools for seeking out duplicate files and hidden files; it even boasts a handy Biggest Files function that allows you to quickly weed out only the biggest files in the directory. Like graphs? SDA can also draw simple graphs displaying your biggest files and most common file types. Simple Directory Analyzer is freeware, requires .NET 3.5, Windows only.
Simple Directory Analyzer [via Freeware Home]While Google recently updated the Favicon that appears in the address bar, Firefox users are stuck with the old icon for the search box. The Mozilla Links weblog details how to update the icon by replacing a file inside the Firefox installation directory. Just browse to your Firefox installation directory (%PROGRAMFILES%\Mozilla Firefox\searchplugins for most Windows users) and replace the google.xml file with the downloadable one provided.If replacing files manually isn’t your game, you can also update your search engine plugin by removing the current one and re-adding it through the Mycroft search engines list. Firefox 3.1 beta users might have to use this method. The new Google icon is, well, colorful. What’s your take, like it or hate it?
