Windows only: Magnify your screen with ultra tiny freeware OneLoupe. Weighing in at a mere 22.5k, OneLoupe resides in your system tray. A single click on the OneLoupe icon activates the magnifier, another single click anywhere on the screen while the magnifier is active dismisses it. While the magnifier is active you can zoom in or out with the scroll wheel, resize the magnifier window with the arrow keys, and take a screenshot of the magnified area. Great for presentations or closeup screenshots, to make OneLoupe portable, simply create a text document and rename it to OneLoupe.ini within the directory you placed the OneLoupe executable. OneLoupe is a free download for Windows only.

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Want to create a chart or graph comparing two or more options, but not so keen on digging that far into Excel or another standard spreadsheet? Tablefy offers a pretty slick interface for creating comparative charts with more than just text. You can throw YouTube videos and graphics in when needed, and entering yes/no in a cell automatically shades the cell red or green. Think of it as a My First Comparison Chart for non-spreadsheet hackers who still like to organise their thoughts into rows and columns.

The Online Tech Tips site has a helpful step-by-step guide for creating encrypted, password-protected data files in Outlook. Walk through the steps and you'll learn how to create a stash for your sensitive emails that no passerby, or network hacker, can get into without some serious effort. If you're really looking to keep your Outlook data out of prying eyes and hands, read how to create encrypted backups of your data on a USB drive.

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Need some fresh e-reading material for your commute, but all out of e-books? Feedbook, a free RSS aggregator, takes in RSS feeds and spits out compiled PDFs in formats for pretty much any e-reader under the sun, including the Kindle, or you can create custom PDFs (with a free registration) for standard screens. The PDFs even come with a table of contents, and the site offers up a few free e-books of its own. Not every feed works all the time, including this here site's full feed this morning, but those that do come out looking surprisingly nice. Feedbook is free to use, but a free registration gives you a few more conversion options.

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Editor: Say hello to fellow tech writer and Lifehacker reader The How-To Geek, who was kind enough to pull together some of best Windows Vista power tweaks here on Lifehacker today.
Whether it's the nagging prompts or the irritating notifications, Windows Vista's default settings can grate on your nerves... which doesn't help you be the productive person you want to be. A few simple tweaks can cut down on the irritation—and drastically alter your views on Vista. Let's take a look at some of the best ways to tame the Vista beast and make it a less naggy operating system to work on.

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Something is afoot at Skype, it seems (and not necessarily the endlessly rumoured selloff by eBay). The company is scheduling media and blogger briefings on a "fundamental change" for later in the week, pitched this way: "Now it's time for our most exciting change since inception, designed to inspire even more conversations." No idea what that means (social networking is the obvious target), though rumours will surely emerge before any official announcement. We'll keep you posted.

The Screen Play gaming column at The Age and SMH is regularly turned over to readers, and the latest contribution from James "DexX" Dominguez is a corker: a comparison of whether it's cheaper to buy games (and controllers) from Australian stores, overseas importers or on eBay. The results unsurprisingly vary by platform, but there was hardly any context where local purchases were cheaper, even after factoring in postage from Hong Kong. Not good news for games retailers, who already have the challenges of piracy and the ludicrous games rating system to contend with. (Thanks to MrAndyPuppy for the heads up.)
Your Turn: The best way to buy

Samsung launched its U900 mobile phone today, promoting it as part of its Beijing Olympics sponsorship campaign. To my mind, there's a much more interesting feature to the phone: it's going to be available on every major local carrier simultaneously. To put that into some sort of perspective, the last time this happened with a Samsung phone was in 2005, according to the company.
Being available on multiple networks makes life simpler for everyone: if you've got an existing account you can just move over, if you want to make a switch you'll have a choice of options and pricing plans (the official RRP for the U900 is $699, but shopping around closer to the July release is bound to turn up a range of options).
Nonetheless, such an approach remains a rarity. When it comes down to the crunch, what do you consider first: the phone or the plan? It's becoming disturbingly evident that for iPhone users, the answer is "the phone, my kidney can be sold if necessary", but what about for the rest of the market -- that is, most of us?

In a wide-ranging discussion of changes in corporate language for the BBC, writer Lucy Kellaway really hits the nail on the head with this comment:

One of the big banks is currently advertising for such workers saying "we seek passionate banking representatives to uphold our values." This is a lie. Actually what the bank is seeking is competent people to follow instructions and answer the phones.

Well, exactly. It'd be great to see job ads taking a more realistic approach, but sadly I can't see it happening any time soon. What's the worst example you've encountered? Let us know in the comments.

Although Foxtel started installing HD-equipped iQ2 boxes in early June, the company has set June 22 as the official date for the launch of the Foxtel HD+ service. The occasion will be marked with an HD broadcast of the World Cup qualifier between Australia and China.
According to Foxtel, more than 15,000 homes have already had the iQ2 box installed. We'd love to know how many wanted HD, and how many just wanted the iQ2 itself (320GB is a lot of shows). But what we're really looking forward to is seeing how people tweak the iQ2 as it becomes more widespread.

Yep, people really can't stop slobbering over the iPhone. Australian IT reports that Optus has had to temporarily remove its pre-registration facility -- obviously that $100 fee and the lack of pricing information is no disincentive -- while Vodafone is claiming more than 40,000 visitors to its site (though that doesn't necessarily equal 40,000 registrations). Optus has said it plans to reinstate its site soon, so if you are one of the apparently large hordes of people who is willing to buy an iPhone at any price, we'd suggest signing up sooner rather than later.
iPhone demand overwhelms carrier

Windows only: Freeware application xB Browser is a portable web browser that provides anonymous web surfing at startup. xB Browser anonymises traffic either through the free Tor network or through its distributor XeroBank's networks (the second comes with a price). Born from the ashes of previously mentioned and abandoned TorPark, xB Browser is really just Firefox with anonymous browsing baked in from the get-go. xB Browser is free, Windows only, though Mac and Linux versions are planned for August 08.

Two years ago, Google's VP of Search Products Marissa Mayer encouraged Stanford students to avoid pulling the plug on ideas and projects that aren't working, and to transform them into something that does. Today, lots of users are sad Google didn't take their own advice and killed the Browser Sync extension instead.

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Microsoft's Small Business Centre says that widespread use of email on mobile devices has changed a few email etiquette rules and details seven tips for refining your mobile email manners. The article focuses on improving email you send to mobile recipients, like sticking to subject-line-only messages when possible and keeping emails brief. We've given you our top tips for improving your email etiquette on your desktop, but in the face of increasing mobile email, the way we communicate over email could use some tweaking. If you consider yourself a mobile email guru, let's hear your tips for proper mobile email etiquette in the comments.

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People clearly want their iPhones. I was in a suburban Vodafone store yesterday and a woman pushed a pram into the store (no mean feat) and asked: "Do you have a price for the iPhone yet?" When the sales assistant said "no", she replied: "Oh well, I'm just going to keep coming in here every day until you do." Maybe she wants one to show off at mothers' group.
But how badly would she want the Internet access features? It's widely assumed that the iPhone will lead to a boom in Australians actually accessing data online, an area where we've been relative laggards. Figures out from Telsyte yesterday suggest that while there are currently just 1.5 million users of 3G mobile broadband , this number will jump to more than 3 million by 2012. It seems safe to assume that quite a few of those will be iPhones. Just how much we use them will depend on how much they cost, of course, an area where we're still sadly all in the dark, despite endless rumours.
Is data the big selling point for the iPhone for you, or is it more the overall aura of Jobs-type cool? Let us know in the comments.

Firefox only (Windows/Mac/Linux): Firefox extension Sxipper automates your web logins and form filling through a simple, attractive interface. Once installed, you can create different personas into Sxipper for quick form filling for site registrations, and Sxipper automatically works with Firefox's existing saved logins. The extension can either learn and build personas based on information you've already used in forms, or you can import other form and password data from other programs like Roboform or plain old vCards. Sxipper is free, works wherever Firefox does.

USA Today reports that more and more professionals are buying their own gadgets and tools—like cell phones and laptops and even GPS devices—to get work done outside of the office.

Nearly 40% of professionals recently surveyed by researcher In-Stat paid for a laptop that they regularly carried. Mobile Phone users often picked up their bill. And company-provided personal digital assistants (PDAs), cameras and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are relatively rare, says the survey, released Monday.

While businesses pinch pennies and hem and haw about what devices actually make their employees more productive, professionals are taking matters into their own hands to keep up with their workload. Have you dipped into your personal budget to purchase electronics that help you get your job done?

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Techie Leonard Lin publishes his investment asset allocation in a Google Spreadsheet which employs the super-useful GoogleFinance formula for live-updating stock prices in-sheet. [via]

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Visit our Windows Vista Hub for complete Vista coverage, including all the latest on webapps, Windows Live and Silverlight.

[Windows Vista Hub]

Google is developing a tool to detect whether your ISP is throttling your bandwidth, according to web site HotHardware. Can't wait for Google's tool? Check out previously mentioned BitTorrent throttle-detector Glasnost.

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Windows/Linux only: Open-source application Dia is a robust flowchart and diagram tool. Like a free version of Microsoft Visio, Dia provides you with all the tools you need to create anything from a simple flowchart to a powerful and complex diagram, and files can be saved in many formats, including a Visio Drawing-compatible VDX filetype. Dia is free, Windows and Linux only. If you'd prefer building your diagrams on the web, check out previously mentioned Gliffy.

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Mozilla released Firefox version 1.0 to relative obscurity in November of 2004, and four short years later, the much-anticipated Firefox 3.0 will hit the streets with ambitions of setting a new world record tomorrow. In honour of the nearly here 3.0 release, let's take a look back at a visual history of Firefox, version 1.0 to 3.0.

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Writer Linda Stone says that a never-ending to-do list can actually keep you from being productive and more importantly, sane. Instead of constantly capturing everything you want to do on a list that gets longer instead of shorter each day? Focus on five intentions for your day and stick to 'em—everything else goes on a different list. Then, celebrate getting your five things done. [via]

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Windows/Mac/Linux: The social-focused, Firefox-based web browser Flock has opened up a 2.0 beta for early adopters and helpful testers. The major "feature," at least this early in the development, is that Flock 2.0 incorporates all the memory use, performance, and other features and enhancements from the nearly-here Firefox 3, while keeping all the nifty social networking/Gmail/blogging integration features that Jason outlined in his screenshot tour of Flock 1.2. There's a few small tweaks along the lines of interface and convenience, but the developers promise more new stuff during a long development cycle. Flock 2.0 beta is a free download for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

If you've ever wanted to archive the exact state of a dynamic web site and have that snapshot accessible from any computer, Iterasi is the service for you. We've covered how to browse old web sites with the WayBack Machine and how to archive web sites to your personal computer, but Iterasi combines the best aspects both by creating a secure and personalised WayBack Machine. Install the Firefox or IE Iterasi add-on, click the Notarize button to save a snapshot of the current state of a web site—even the dynamic stuff you click on, like a pop-up location on a Google Map—to your Iterasi account. Add notes to your saved pages on the Iterasi web site, tag them, and search on the page content, notes, or tags. You can even use Iterasi to monitor a web site over time and set it to take a snapshot at scheduled intervals. Hit the play button on the demo clip above to see Iterasi in action.

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