Microsoft Desktops Gives Windows Super-Simple Multiple Desktops

Windows only: Desktops, a new Vista-compatible 1.0 release from Microsoft's Sysinternals team, is a multi-desktop tool for Windows users who don't want, or can't afford the system resources for, a complete virtual desktop solution, such as VirtuaWin. Desktops simply asks you to assign universal shortcut keys for desktop switching between a maximum of four (Shift+Ctrl+F1, for example), and then nests in your system tray to offer thumbnail views and switching by clicking. One plus is that Desktops doesn't load new memory-hogging desktops until you create them. The big downsides are an inability to drag apps between desktops, along with incompatibility with some tools (Firefox, Launchy, and anything that doesn't like multiple instances, for that matter). So it's mostly a simple means of keeping full-screen email, browsers, office apps, and other programs separated, but it does that pretty well—with improvements, hopefully, to come. Desktops is a free download for Windows systems only.

Desktops [Windows Sysinternals via gHacks]

Get Free Airport Wi-Fi with a Simple URL Hack

Blogger Felix Geisendorfer points out a clever URL hack that scored him free Wi-Fi at the Atlanta airport.

I found that I could easily visit sites like slashdot, Google, or even this weblog, when adding a ?.jpg at the end of the url. The next logical step was to automate that. I downloaded Greasemonkey and wrote a 4 line script that would add ?.jpg to every link in a document. That way I was able to browse most sites without a hassle.

This trick will only work on Wi-Fi networks that allow images to go through without a redirect, and though it may seem like a bit of a stretch, it's better than shelling out $7 for 30 minutes of Wi-Fi. Unfortunately the author didn't make the Greasemonkey script available, but even without it you could get in some decent browsing. The post isn't new, and I haven't tested this, so if you've ever used this trick or you're at an airport or Wi-Fi hotspot and can give it a try, let's hear how it worked for you in the comments. Photo by Jace.

Hacking a commercial airport WLAN [Debuggable Ltd. via Hackszine]

World's Cheapest 64GB USB Stick Costs Only $111

For the world's cheapest man, we present the world's (supposedly) cheapest 64GB USB stick. It's assembled just for you out of the Netherlands, the place where quality (?) USB drives are made. You have the choice of brown or black, which makes perfect sense since this thing's made of leather, and nobody wants a purple leather USB drive. We're cheap, not animals. [Van Der Led]