It’s quite a hassle having to download and install a new version of three or four browsers every day, so I made a Mac OS X app for each browser (Apple Safari aka WebKit, Google Chrome aka Chromium, Mozilla Firefox aka Minefield, and Opera) that checks if a new version is available, automatically downloads and installs it, and then launches it. If you already have the latest version, it will launch or focus it directly, allowing you to have only those 4 icons in the dock, and always use them to access your browsers.

Click here to download them.

FYI, using the latest builds of each browser (as of 2009-6-9), here are the results of html5test.com :

• WebKit : 220 + 7 bonus points
• Chromium : 217 + 6 bonus points
• Firefox : 176 + 9 bonus points
• Opera : 129 + 4 bonus points

For those interested, these apps consist of bash scripts embedded in AppleScript app-bundles, so you can modify them for your own needs (note that by default they are setup to install Intel and/or 64bit builds when available). Please share any enhancements or fixes you might make.

Update 2010-6-12 : Fixed the Firefox updater, so you can use it on 32bit system by changing the line :
my_arch=”mac64″;
to :
my_arch=”mac.dmg”;

• InstaReader Sync is a service to automatically sync your Starred Items in Google Reader, with your InstaPaper‘s read-later list. So that when you’re skimming the thousands of items flowing in from you favorite sites, you just have to click ☆ on the ones that seem interesting, and they will automatically be available in InstaPaper a few minutes later. It also works with NetNewsWire‘s Flagged Items.
  You can try out the service here, and I’ll also soon be releasing the source code so you can run it for yourself.
• The InstaReader bookmarklet adds a button to your browser to read the current page in InstaPaper‘s nice text-only (+images) mode, which removes all the distracting menus, sidebars, ads, etc… to provide a comfortable reading experience (example).
  Bonus point : it works with Google Reader, opening the currently selected article in a new tab. Its especially useful for reading sites that don’t offer the full articles in their feed.
• InstaReader for NetNewsWire is an AppleScript that adds a command to NetNewsWire to open the current article in InstaPaper’s nice text-only (+images) reading mode. Its especially useful for reading sites that don’t offer the full articles in their feed.

Full details here…

It helps to more effectively edit your themes or plugins when you only have access to a browser, by enabling syntax highlighting in WordPress’ integrated source code editors. Supports PHP, HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

Please provide any feedback at http://anetech.eu/power-code-editor/

the demo is pretty impressive…

more info…

Mise à jour : Article sur Zone-H 

Update : Jonathan Evans, Director-General of MI5 (UK’s secret service), has sent a letter to 300 chief executives and security chiefs in banks and accounting and legal firms telling them that they are under attack from “Chinese state organisations”. Rolls-Royce and Royal Dutch Shell are reported to have fallen victim to Chinese espionage attacks.

The service lets you broadcast directly on the TV screens of its million+ users, either on-demand or live, publicly or privately to group of friends/family. Everything is done with a remote control by plugging your camera directly onto the set-top-box.

There also exists online services that let you broadcast live, with different levels of complexity and functionality :
Gaspanik (french), Mogulus (pro), Ustream (simple), Kyte (mobile), BlogTV, Stickam, operator11, Veodia, etc…

They’ll have to carry the wireless devices as a way for border guards to access the electronic information stored inside a document about the size of a large index card.

Visitors to the U.S. will get the card the first time they cross the border and will be required the carry the document on subsequent crossings to and from the States.

Border guards will be able to access the information electronically from 12 metres away to enable those carrying the devices to be processed more quickly.

via Boing Boing

More info… – Source : En gadget

Unfortunately, the scenario isn’t fictional. In an effort to identify counterfeiters, the US government has succeeded in persuading some color laser printer manufacturers (Xerox, Canon  and others) to encode each page with identifying information. That means that without your knowledge or consent, an act you assume is private could become public. A communication tool you’re using in everyday life could become a tool for government surveillance. And what’s worse, there are no laws to prevent abuse.

The same thing is happening in Europe.

The ACLU recently issued a report revealing that the FBI has amassed more than 1,100 pages of documents on the organization since 2001, as well as documents concerning other non-violent groups, including Greenpeace and United for Peace and Justice. In the current political climate, it’s not hard to imagine the government using the ability to determine who may have printed what document for purposes other than identifying counterfeiters. Your freedom to speak anonymously is in danger.

Yet there are no laws to stop the Secret Service — or for that matter, any other governmental agency or private company — from using printer codes to secretly trace the origin of non-currency documents. We’re unaware of any printer manufacturer that has a privacy policy that would protect you, and no law regulates what people can do with the information once it’s turned over. And that doesn’t even reach the issue of how such a privacy-invasive tool could be developed and implemented in printers without the public becoming aware of it in the first place.

With nothing on the books, we lack tools to stop the privacy and anonymity violations this technology enables. For this reason, EFF is gathering information about what printers are revealing and how — a necessary precursor to any legal challenge or new legislation to protect your privacy. And they could use your help.

In this preliminary research paper, they explain what was observed so far, briefly exploring the privacy implications, and ask you to print and send them test sheets from your color laser printer and/or a color laser printer at your local print shop. That way, we can watch the watchers and ensure that your privacy isn’t compromised in ways that harm your fundamental constitutional rights.

In addition to documenting what printers are revealing, EFF is filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, and will keep us updated on what they discover. In the meantime, EFF urges you to participate in this research project and pass the word along.

Directions for printing test sheets - Source : EFF