Maven should by default use the environment defined proxy settings

What exactly are "environment proxy settings" here, native OS settings? Also, the settings.xml are user/machine specific so why is there a need to "edit the settings.xml files every time."?

By "environment proxy settings" i mean the native OS settings. It's very much possible and easy to get those in a Java application.

Answering your second question, i'm sure a lot of people have a laptop and use it both at work and at home. At work you have to use a proxy, at home you don't.
Is there any way i can use maven following this pattern without having to edit the settings.xml file twice a day ?

@Hugo I'm glad this is so easy to do this, we eagerly await your patches

As it turns out, i didn't find any java lib that did this. So, i started coding one: http://code.google.com/p/javaproxydiscoverer
When i get a functional release out i'll update here and maybe you can use it in Maven.

I'm working under windows (7), maven is a Java app, on windows users can set prosy with specific settings on Java settings under controlo panel.
These settings can refer to "system" proxy or to specific proxy, if these settings would be used on maven would be easier to distribute m2 on different developing PC.
Don't know if it's similar under other OS.

There is this section in the $

/jre/lib/net.properties file since JDK 1.5:

# Whether or not the DefaultProxySelector will default to System Proxy
# settings when they do exist.
# Set it to 'true' to enable this feature and check for platform
# specific proxy settings
# Note that the system properties that do explicitely set proxies
# (like http.proxyHost) do take precedence over the system settings
# even if java.net.useSystemProxies is set to true.

java.net.useSystemProxies=false

Setting this property to true should do exactly this.