How to Switch Between the Old and New Service Directories on cable.ayra.ch

Updated

cable.ayra.ch runs two servers with different services, and the main service listing page includes a link to switch to the old directory. If you're looking for a tool and can't find it in the current listing, the old directory is the first place to check. The switch is a simple link click — there's no account, login, or setting involved.

What the two directories are

The site describes itself as "a collection of individual tools I wrote over time," large enough that it had to be split into categories. According to the service listing page:

  • Two servers host different services.
  • The current listing page provides a link to switch to the old directory.
  • All services operate independently — you often won't find a link back to the overview from an individual tool.

That last point matters: once you open a tool, you may not be able to navigate back to the directory from that page. Bookmark the directory itself if you plan to browse multiple tools.

How to switch

  1. Open the cable.ayra.ch service listing (the page headed "Service Listing").
  2. Find the line noting that there are two servers with different services.
  3. Click the link labeled to switch to the old directory.
  4. You land on the old directory, which lists the services hosted on the other server.

The reverse trip works the same way — the old directory is a separate listing, not a mirror, so expect a different set of entries rather than the same list with different styling.

Why a tool might be missing from one directory

Because the two servers host different services, a tool you remember using may simply live on the other server. The listing page also shows a "Latest Changes" log, which is useful for spotting tools that moved or were retired. For example, one entry notes that "The IP service has been retired. An improved replacement service has been set up." — so an old link to the IP service may no longer work even though an IP-related tool still exists elsewhere.

What's in the current listing

The current directory groups services into six categories (Home, New Toys, Info, Security, Ext, Other, About) and shows 153 entries in total. Examples from the listing:

Tool What it does
Apache Installer Easy-to-use installers for Apache + PHP
DOCMAC IP generator Generates DOCMAC IPv6 addresses
Image compressor Compresses images to file size and dimension limits
PDF Splitter Extract or delete a range of pages from a PDF
Tor client for Windows Automatically created Tor client installer
Wifi QR generator QR codes that connect a device to a wifi network
Windows language and encodings List of languages and encodings Windows knows

There's also a "Stuff to play with that has no real purpose" group (Braille Converter, Gameboy emulator, IPoAC Calculator, MOD Player, and others), which is worth knowing about if you're scanning the list for something specific and skipping past it.

Practical notes

  • No link back: individual services usually don't link to the overview, so keep the directory URL handy.
  • Check both directories before concluding a tool is gone. Retirement notices in the change log mean some tools are genuinely removed, but others just live on the other server.
  • The change log is dated, so you can tell how recently a service was added, updated, or retired — useful when a link you saved stops working.