Mozilla Firefox – DECISION STATS

Lyx Releases 2

Lyx releases new version- now if only there was a SIMPLE way to put R code in a Lyx existing text class (having tried Sweave and sweaved myself into knots ! 😦

and I hope Ubuntu Linux 10.10 netbook fixes the curious case of disappearing menu bar in Lyx

see https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/indicator-appmenu/+bug/619811

(Hint start Lyx using from the terminal:
QT_X11_NO_NATIVE_MENUBAR=1 lyx)

Beta Release: LyX 2.0.0 beta 4 released.

February 6, 2011

We are pleased to announce the fourth public pre-release of LyX 2.0.0.
Except usual bugfixing we fixed random crashes connected with the new background export and compilation feature.

As far as new features is considered it is now possible

to set the table width,
customize the language package per document,
export LyX files as a single archive containing linked material (e.g. images) directly via export menu.

Since this is most probably the last beta release we also added convertor for old (1.6) preference files which are automatically checked on the startup now.

A Special Graphics Device in R: the Null Device (r-bloggers.com)
How do you explain reproducible research to clients? (r-bloggers.com)
Firefox 4 beta 11 released, more bugs stomped, beta 12 still to come (downloadsquad.switched.com)
Do Not Track arrives in Firefox beta, ad industry not on board yet (arstechnica.com)
How to create PDF reports with R (revolutionanalytics.com)
pgfSweave 1.1.3 and Beyond (r-bloggers.com)
makefiles for Sweave, R and LaTeX using Eclipse on Windows (r-bloggers.com)
Ubuntu 11.04 “Natty Narhwal” Alpha 2 Released (techie-buzz.com)
R with Vim (r-bloggers.com)

Opera’s Minimalistic Peer to peer OS Browser

mijn Opera Unite Fridge — Image by Jaap Stronks via Flickr

Yes Opera is a browser but you may as well call it an OS. With an uncluttered design, some mind bending Opera Unite Peer to Peer features (in a browser!) withhttp://unite.opera.com/applications/, and nifty widgets- try singing some Opera. I really dont know how browsers make money, especially since they are suing each other all the time, but well- heres to more choice – if you don’t want a corporation owned browser lusting to sell your leaked privacy data to Don Draper- Opera is a good choice- much better than Sea Monkey and the Fox .

I really liked the option to make my own web server in 2 clicks,and share stuff. The bit trorrent support is really nice but I wonder if there was any Scandinavian brotherly ports in bit torrent sharing 😉 , me hearties

Opera Announces Opera 11 With Extensions (pcworld.com)
Opera Extensions – 113 And Counting (lockergnome.com)
Extend Opera (opera.com)
“Opera Mobile 10.1 beta pops up on Android” and related posts (pocket-lint.com)
Opera Web Browser Review (brighthub.com)

Opera's Minimalistic Peer to peer OS Browser

Opera Announces Opera 11 With Extensions (pcworld.com)
Opera Extensions – 113 And Counting (lockergnome.com)
Extend Opera (opera.com)
“Opera Mobile 10.1 beta pops up on Android” and related posts (pocket-lint.com)
Opera Web Browser Review (brighthub.com)

Using Firesheep on Campus, Caltrain and beyond

Cookie theft by sniffing on the network — Image via Wikipedia

You must have heard about Firesheep-

it is a simple utility that adds on your Firefox browser– and simply traps all cookies floating around on public wi-fis like airports, university campuses, caltrain and soon san fransisco

Basically White Hat Hacking made easy so you can pose as anyone else on Facebook– if they are logged in nearby

When logging into a website you usually start by submitting your username and password. The server then checks to see if an account matching this information exists and if so, replies back to you with a “cookie” which is used by your browser for all subsequent requests.

It’s extremely common for websites to protect your password by encrypting the initial login, but surprisingly uncommon for websites to encrypt everything else. This leaves the cookie (and the user) vulnerable. HTTP session hijacking (sometimes called “sidejacking“) is when an attacker gets a hold of a user’s cookie, allowing them to do anything the user can do on a particular website. On an open wireless network, cookies are basically shouted through the air, making these attacks extremely easy.

Read the rest at

http://codebutler.com/firesheep

It would be interesting to see if Firesheep goes viral (or social)