Google just released their Chrome 10 browser which only hit beta three weeks ago. There are some nice updates, including an important one which won’t be seen by the eye.

Chrome 10 Speed Improvements:

As far as updates you can see, and feel, there is a nice jump in the speed of Chrome. Google says the new browser should result in a 30 to 40% speed increase according to their benchmarks (see the chart below).

Chrome 10 Security Enhancements:

For those who are concerned about web security – and shouldn’t we all be? – there is a new feature called “Sandboxing” which keeps the web page in each tab separate from the other tabs. So, if one browser tab’s page crashes or freezes due to bad or malicious code, only that tab will crash. Also, any malware opened in one page cannot access information in the other tabs. If you are opening a page that asks for a password and it is not encrypted it cannot be accessed by another page with malicious code that tries to leach this information.

Google explains Sandboxing in Google Chrome further in the video below:

Chrome 10 Preferences and Settings Changes:

Something else that Google is highlighting with this new release is the new settings feature. Instead of a separate dialog box it comes as a tab looking just like another browser page. You access it via the little tool icon that looks like a wrench in the upper right corner of the browser. Clicking on “options” from the drop down box opens up the new settings tab. Mac users will find the word “preferences” instead of “options.” Probably the most useful new feature in the settings box is the search function. When looking for a specific setting, just start typing as if you are searching a webpage.

Because the new settings page is a webpage, it has its own URL. This will be helpful when a user is trying to help someone else change a setting.For Example, let’s say you’re helping your mom clear data to remove advertising tracking cookies. You can open up the settings page in your own browser, click on under the hood along the left-hand side, and there you will find the “Clear Browsing Data” button. Now just copy the URL and paste it into an e-mail to mom. Tell her to click the link and find the button.

Below is a video demonstrating the new features of the Settings page in Google Chrome 10:

Chrome Syncing Expands:

With Google Chrome 10, users can also sync the user data.The user can either sync everything or he or she can choose from the following:

• apps purchase from the chrome app store
• autofill information
• bookmarks
• extensions
• passwords
• preferences
• themes

This makes using multiple computers easier. To matter which computer you use, so long as you use Chrome 10, you can have your customizations in place. This is not new if you’ve used the beta version.

We’ve been using the beta version for a number  of weeks. It has been a little bit unstable, but other than that it is a nice alternative to Internet Explorer or Firefox. Now that it is out of beta, we recommend that everyone give it a try to see if they like it. Hopefully, the instability we experienced will be gone. It was very rare, but we did have the occasional freeze. The good news is with Chrome, when one page freezes, the whole browser doesn’t always go down.

Google Chrome 10 Launches: Speed, Security and Syncing Highlighted is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Apple’s answer to Microsoft Office, the iWork suite, hasn’t been updated in some time, but it looks like we could see iWork ’11 pretty quickly. Best Buy Mexico inadvertently put up a page telling shoppers that iWork ’11 would be coming February 19th, inviting Apple users to stop in and “Discover the New iWork ’11″ at 7 PM February 19th.

While the Best Buy page has since been pulled AppleBitch managed to grab a screen capture of the page which is shown above. We had anticipated that iWork ’11 would launch with the Mac App Store in January, but that has come and gone without new versions of Pages, Numbers and Keynote.

Aside from the length of time since the last update there are other reasons that we are anticipating a refresh of the office suite. One factor is a decreasing supply of iWork ’09 packages at retail. While this could be partially attributed to Apple’s move to the Mac App Store a constrained supply is a key indicator that Apple is readying a new product.

When iWork ’11 arrives we expect to see the same pricing as previous versions which available for $79.99 or for $49.99 as an add-on to a new computer purchase. Additionally we expect to see Pages ’11, Keynote ’11 and Numbers ’11 available individually in the App Store for $20 a piece.

iWork ’11 is in competition with Microsoft Office for Mac 2011which is available starting at $100 for the Home and Student edition. You can see a comparison of iWork and Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 to figure out which one may be a better fit for your needs.

iWork ’11 On the Way This Month According to Best Buy Mexico is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Apple released iOS 4.2 to its developers in what is called a “gold master” release, meaning that it is in the final step before being released to regular users. The new update will finally bring all three iOS platforms to the same operating system release number.

It includes improvements a unified email inbox for the iPad. The other big benefits for iPad users will be multitasking and folder support, which lets users combine apps into folders for better organization and fewer screens of apps through which they must sift to find apps.

New for all iOS devices is the ability for users who also own and Apple TV to stream movies and other videos from the iOS devices to the Apple TV. This is called AirPlay and is a big feature given the lack of storage on the Apple TV for purchased content. Finally, AirPrint will bring native printing support to iOS devices.

Can’t wait? Want to know more about iOS 4.2 for the iPad? Check out this iOS 4.2 walkthrough.

iOS 4.2 is Gold, Coming to an iPad Near You Soon is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Betanews is reporting that they have received confirmation that Adobe will release Adobe Creative Suite 5 at an online launch event at 11:00 a.m. EDT on April 12.

Included in the new suite will be Mercury, a better HD Video rendering engine. The reason Mercury is an improvement is that it uses the power from nVidia graphics cards to do decoding for a better overall experience. ATI users will not get this benefit due to the fact that software developers do not  yet have full access to ATI’s OpenCL API for driver support.

The other touted benefit of this upgrade is Flash Catalyst, which is a development engine used to create Flash programs focused on designers and graphic artists, similar to Microsoft’s Expression Studio.

There is no official word from Adobe about pricing yet.

UPDATE: Adobe is now confirming this with a new web page for counting down till the big launch.

April 12th Release of Adobe CS5 Good for nVidia Users is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

This week Microsoft posted details about Windows 7 Service Pack 1. What’s new? Very little. Brandon LeBlonc wrote on the The Windows Blog:

For Windows 7, SP1 includes only minor updates, among which are previous updates that are already delivered through Windows Update. SP1 for Windows 7 will, however, deliver an updated Remote Desktop client that takes advantage of RemoteFX introduced in the server-side with SP1 for Windows Server 2008 R2.

The one bone for us to chew on is the updated Remote Desktop client which will utilize RemoteFX, a part of Windows Server 2008 R2. RemoteFX is a technology that makes renders the visuals on clients on the server side. That helps users feel like they are getting the full visual experience of using a Windows 7 machine with Aero and multimedia on a thin client” machine. A thin client” is a computer that hooks into a server via a network and runs programs off the network so that it does not have to have much horsepower. Some thin clients will be very bare bones systems costing as little as $100.

So, for the average user, this is of little significance. SP1 will not any significant new features to Windows 7.

If you have been waiting on SP1 to upgrade to Windows 7, then it is getting closer. There is no official word on when a beta might be released or when the final product will be ready for release. It has been reported previously that this would come out about 22 months after the initial release of Windows 7, which would make it by the end of this year. The fourth quarter is when Vista’s first service pack was released in beta and the official release was in February, 2008.

Comparatively, Vista SP1 actually added some significant performance and reliability to the OS. The first SP of Windows XP was mostly a security upgrade, besides being a patch roll up as well.

Windows 7 SP1 Has Little for Average Users is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Today, Fujitsu announced several major modifications to its product line-up and unveiled a host of new computers. These releases are additions to the Lifebook series, expanding  the selection with a couple of new tablets, an ultra-thin notebook, a desktop-replacement notebook, and a mini-notebook. Let’s take a peek at the full details and specifications!

The LifeBook T4310 and the T4410 are the latest convertible tablets from Fujitsu. You can see the lightweight T4310 model pictured above; these computers can weigh as little as 3.9 pounds. The laptops are equipped with a dual digitizer for advanced multitouch capabilities and are highly customizable- you can add an additional battery, an extra hard drive, or even an optical drive without modifying the tablet’s size! You can also opt for a webcam, integrated fingerprint scanner, and HDMI, VGA, FireWire, Gigabit Ethernet, and 3 USB ports to the tablets as well.  The two new tablets are preloaded with Windows 7 Home Premium, as well as the helpful Fujitsu Touch Launcher which allows easy access to installed applications and improves navigation.

The computers come with a 12.1-inch WXGA LED backlight display, attached to a bi-directional hinge for easy conversion from a notebook to tablet and vice-versa. They’re powered by the Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6670 (2.20 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB) and can come with up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM. Hard drives sizes can vary but can go up to 320GB; a SD slot is also included for easy access to flash memory cards. The LifeBook T4310 starts at $1,099 and is designed for students and consumers while the T4410, which is marketed for mobile professionals, can cost up to $1,299.

The LifeBook P3010, pictured above, is the new ultraportable machine. It comes with a 11.6″ Crystal View WXGA HD display, has a full keyboard, and weighs a light 3.5 pounds. It is powered by the AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 Processor (1.60 GHz, 512 KB L2 cache) and can be configured with to 2GB of RAM. It can have up to 3 USB ports and comes at a great price- $549. An external optical drive can be purchased for an additional fee.

The LifeBook A1220 is Fujitsu’s best-equipped model, designed to compete against desktops. As you can see above, it’s a 15.6″ notebook with a built-in optical drive, which can be upgraded from a Dual-Layer Multi-Format DVD Writer to a Blu-Ray Reader. For easy online communication, a web camera and microphone are integrated into the notebook. You can choose between a Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6600 (2.20 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB) or a Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P7450 (2.13 GHz, 3 MB L2 cache, 1066 MHz FSB) and can have up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM. As you may expect, there are plenty of ports and slots, including one for HDMI support, four USB 2.0 ports, MemoryStick/SD slot, and ExpressCard slot. The Lithium ion 6-cell battery promises up to 5 hours of battery life. Depending on the features you select, the A1220 can cost between$749 to $999.

The newest mini-notebook, the Fujitsu M2011,  is very similar to the older model, the M2010. The main difference is the upgrade to Windows 7 Starter and an increase in hard drive size. The M2011 is has a 10.1-inch LCD display and is a very light 2.83 pound netbook. It’s powered by the Intel Atom N280 processor and can have up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM.

Fujitsu Updates Offerings for Windows 7 Launch is a post by Bogdan Semida from Notebooks.com.

Sony is known for having some of the finest ultra-portable laptops around, and they seem to continue to launch even smaller and lighter computers with each passing year or two. This is year is no different — Sony has officially announced the Sony VAIO X series (the laptop in the mesmerizing commercial that we showed you several weeks back) by way of press release. They have also put the laptop up on their site.

The Sony VAIO X which strives for a light and thin aesthetic, measures just 0.5” thick, and weighs 1.6lbs. Sony’s press release proclaims that this is the world’s lightest notebook”, but don’t believe everything that you hear. While the Sony VAIO X is undeniably light, and may be the lightest compared to other notebooks within the 10+” screen range, there are definitely lighter computers out there. Sony VAIO’s very own P-series weighs only 1.4lbs.

The VAIO X has an 11.1” screen with a 1366×768 display which is a nice 16:9 widescreen format, meaning that it will match the shape of HDTV formatted content which is always a plus in my book. The unit also has a 2.0GHz Atom Z550 CPU, 2GB of RAM, and up to a 128GB SSD under the hood. The X uses the latest WiFi-N protocol, along with Bluetooth, and even built-in GPS for directions to your destination. Cellular internet service is offered in the form of 3G from Verizon (you’ll need a contract for this of course). The notebook will come with the latest operating system from Microsoft Windows 7.Sony’s battery claims for the VAIO X are a bit dubious. Without the extended battery, you should only hope to be able to run the VAIO X for up to 3.5 hours, which in itself isn’t too bad considering the size of this thing, but it is just about below average for new notebooks or netbooks. If you really want good run time out of the VAIO X, you’ll need to attach the extended battery, which will let you run the VAIO X for up to 14 hours according to Sony. Unfortunately, the extended battery adds a ridiculous amount of mass to the VAIO X, which pretty much defeats the purpose of having a super slim and light computer. At very least, it seems as though the standard and extended batteries come with the VAIO X, so you’ll have a choice depending upon what situation you are in (maybe a run to Starbucks, or a long flight).Sony makes good computers, but they are pretty much never budget conscious. The VAIO X doesn’t break this trend, and starts at $1,299 in gold or black color options.

The Sony VAIO X Ultra-Portable is Official and it is Thin. is a post by Ben from Notebooks.com.