The update to Safari includes the following:

• Addresses issues that cause hangs and excessive memory usage
• Addresses issues that could cause webpages to flash white
• Allows PDFs to be displayed within web content

The update brings the version number of Safari to 5.1.2 and contains 40.2MB of data.

The update to Keynote fixes a problem caused by using rather large Keynote presentations while working in OS X Lion and brings Keynote’s version number to 5.1.1 with the 35.2 MB update.

You can get these updates through the Software Update item on the Apple menu in OS X. The Keynote update will show up on the Mac App Store if that’s where you bought your copy of Keynote. You can also get the update via Apple’s website (Keynote update, Safari Update).

The Windows iCloud Control Panel also got an update. The update brings compatibility with the above Safari update if you are running Windows. It requires Vista or higher and brings the version number to 1.0.1 in a 40.03MB update.

Apple Pushes Minor Updates to Safari, Keynote & Windows iCloud is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Here is the list of what Apple is saying is in this latest iTunes release.

iTunes 10.2.2 provides a number of important bug fixes, including:

• Addresses an issue where iTunes may become unresponsive when syncing an iPad.

• Resolves an issue which may cause syncing photos with iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to take longer than necessary.

• Fixes a problem where video previews on the iTunes Store may skip while playing.

• Addresses other issues that improve stability and performance.

As always, to get the update on a Mac, go to the Apple menu and select the software update item. In Windows use the Help menu in iTunes where you will find the update menu item. The details about the security updates in this release are at the Apple website. Apple doesn’t say much about security fixes in order to protect those who do not update in a timely fashion.

If you haven’t already, be sure to get the latest updates for Safari (on both Windows and Mac) as well as the update for OS X which is a security update. We recommend getting all security updates on both Windows and Mac as soon as you can. Once the manufacturers release these updates nefarious people may try to exploit systems that don’t apply the patches in order to gain control of your system or do harm to your system. You un-patched system could be used to do harm to others through the Internet without you knowing it.

Apple Updates iTunes to 10.2.2 with Minor Bug Fixes is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Apple doesn’t provide much information about these security updates, but you can see what information is available by visiting the Apple support page. Safari 5.0.5 brings a collection of security updates as well, and is a recommended update for all Safari users, both on Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Windows.

To update, you can click on the Apple in your upper left corner and choose “Software Update…”. From there, the software update tool will walk you through the process. Youc an also download the Safari update direct from Apple if you want. Windows users will need to manually update Safari unless they have the Software updater already running on their system.

Apple Issues OS X Security Update and Safari Update is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The Wall Street Journal Reports,

The tool is included within the latest test release of Lion, a version of Apple’s Mac OS X operating system that is currently available only to developers. The final version of the operating system is scheduled to be released to the public this summer. Mentions of the do-not-track feature in Apple’s Safari browser began to appear recently in online discussion forums and on Twitter.

It is expected that the new Do-Not-Track feature will make its way to Safari on earlier version s of OS X and likely show up on the Windows version of Safari in order to offer a similar experience across platforms.

The Do-Not-Track feature is also found in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox, but the remaining hurdles is industry adoption by advertisers. The addition of these features is in part to avoid legislation , but so far the advertising industry hasn’t come to an agreement on how to make use of the Do-Not-Track features.

The Do-Not-Track term may be a bit frightening to normal users, who likely don’t want their online activities tracked, but in reality the biggest thing it will affect is the quality of ads you see. With the tracking technology currently in place, advertising networks can send you ads that should be at least interesting or on target when you visit a website.

For example, if you visit a iPhone case website and then go browsing to other websites, you may see advertisements relating to that company, possibly including coupons designed to get you to come back and purchase.

Sure, the tracking can be abused, by individuals or companies, but I would prefer that we leave the law out of our browsers. Hopefully the advertisers can come to an agreement and this issue can be handled by cooperation instead of legislation.

Vi MacRumors

Safari Browser the Latest to Get Do Not Track Feature, Coming in OS X Lion is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

When users try to download a file that Google knows to be suspicious, the warning above will be displayed. The warning is slightly different from the standard Chrome warning when you download a program from the internet, but we think it could be a bit more in your face as users have been trained to just click save or Yes too often.

The new feature has been rolled out to the development build of Chrome for testing, but is expected to arrive in the next stable release of Chrome that will be pushed out to Chrome users.

Once the new protections are built into Chrome, we’d suggest switching your parents and other users that need a little help keeping malware and viruses off their computer, or as the we like to say – “Meet your dad’s new browser”.

The new system will make use of the existing Safe Browsing API which currently protects users of Chrome, Firefox and Safari when they try to visit a website suspected of containing malware. The new extension of the Safe Browsing API takes things further, looking for files that appear to be legit, but actually compromise security.

These websites have not been blocked in the past because they weren’t trying to automatically download malicious files, but rather depending on users to willingly download the software. The software can display spam, launch popups, perform click fraud and steal passwords and other personal information.

While other browsers use the Safe Browsing API, it’s not clear if, or when, Firefox and Safari might add this new feature to protect users from themselves.

Chrome will Block Malicious Windows Installers – Your Dad’s New Browser is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

• Improved stability for webpages with multiple instances of plug-in content
• Improved compatibility with webpages with image reflections and transition effects
• A fix for an issue that could cause some webpages to print with incorrect layouts
• A fix for an issue that could cause content to display incorrectly on webpages with plug-ins
• A fix for an issue that could cause a Screen Saver to appear while video is playing in Safari
• Improved compatibility with VoiceOver on webpages with text input areas and lists with selectable items
• Improved stability when using VoiceOver

You will notice that none of the above say anything about security. That is because Apple will not reveal what holes they are patching. But hackers can still figure it out by looking at the code that is changed. So get it now.

For Windows users of Safari you will have to update by gong to the Apple Safari page.

This was a busy day of updates for Apple with a very minor iTunes bug fix in preparation for the big iOS 4.3 update which dropped two days ahead of the announced March 11 date. The iPad 2 is coming Friday at 5 PM rounding out a busy week for Apple.

Apple Updates Safari Security With a Slew of Minor Fixes is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

In this article I will show you how to clear your browser history in five of the most popular web browsers.

Internet Explorer 8 and 9

Click Start, type: internet options.

Hit Enter on your keyboard.

Under Browsing history, click Delete.

(Windows XP users, click Start > Control Panel > Internet Options or click Start, right click Internet Options > click Properties).

Google Chrome

Press Control + H on your keyboard or Click the Customize and control Google Chrome wrench located at the extreme right hand top of the window.

Click History.

Click Edit Items…

Click Clear all browsing data…

Mozilla Firefox

Click Tools > click Clear Recent History or press CTRL + Shift + Del.

Click the Details button then check the following: Browsing & Download History, Cookies, Cache. Firefox gives you the option of selectively removing certain information and retaining other parts.

Click in the Time range to clear: list box and select Everything.

Click Clear Now.

Opera

Click the Opera Menu, then click History.

Select the name, (you can make non-adjacent selections), then click Delete on the toolbar.

Apple Safari

Click History menu, the click Clear History.

How to Clear Your Web Browser History (Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera) is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

Major New Features

Multitasking – you can now run multiple apps at once without shutting them down.

Folders – organize your apps into folders so you will have fewer screens of apps and you can more easily find all your apps from a similar category.

AirPrint – print from your iPad to your printer so long as it is connected to a Mac, an AirPort Express Base Station or it is a supported AirPrinter printer

AirPlay – stream content from your iPad to an new Apple TV, AirPlay compatible speakers or stereos or speakers connected to an AirPort Base Station.

Find My iPad – if you lose your iPad or think it is stolen, this previously paid service is now free and can help you locate the iPad (or iPhone/iPod Touch) on a map, make it sound an tone, display a message, set a passcode lock, or wipe it remotely. (You have to set this up before you lose your iPad so do it now.)

Game Center – connect with other iOS gamers so you can brag about your scores, compare to their’s and find opponents for a head-to-head match up.

The video below demos most of these major new features:

Minor New Features

While the above new features got all the headlines, here are a few that might make iOS 4.2 a worthwhile upgrade.

iTunes TV show rentals – users can now rent content for watching on the iPad. Maybe you are in a hotel on business and the current TV offerings are not to your liking. You want to catch up on 24, so you fire up iTunes and find the next episode you’re ready to watch and you can now rent it for only $.99 instead of having to pay full price. Now you can with iOS 4.2.

Unified InBox and Threaded Messaging – Instead of having to switch from one account to another, now you can view all the messages from your varied email accounts in one unified inbox. Also all of your conversations will be organized into threads. So instead of seeing five emails between you and your boss, you will see one item. Tap it and it displays all five. Finally you can open attachments from email in other supported applications using the share button.

Find Text on Web Pages – If you searched for a word in Google and then found a link to a page containing that word, it may be hard to find the word. Now, just like the PC version of Safari, there is a find word feature. Type the word into the search box in the upper right corner. At the bottom you will see a separator with the label “On This Page (xx matches).” Tap the word under the separator and it will highlight that word on the page.

Notes with Fonts - Now the Notes app will let you change the font of your note. To do so go into Settings and choose Notes from the list on the left. You will see three font choices – Chalkboard (the default), Helvetica, and Marker Felt. Pick the one you want and exit Settings. Next time you go into Notes it will display notes in that font.

Reply to Calendar Invites – Now, if your friend sends you an invitation to an event using their Yahoo, Google or Microsoft Exchange calendar, you can reply from within the Calendar App itself.

New Languages Supported – There are “over 50 languages and dialects, with more than 30 new international keyboards and dictionaries for iPad” according to the Apple site.

Accessibility Enhancements – “Control VoiceOver using a wireless keyboard. Output in braille to over 30 supported 
wireless Bluetooth refreshable braille displays in more than 25 languages.” (from Apple)

Enhanced Enterprise Support – There are stronger security measures as well as things to help businesses manage all of their iOS devices.

iOS 4.2 New Features Roundup for the iPad is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

If you are going to be mobile and want to extend the battery life of your notebook you may want to disable Flash, but thankfully you don’t need to un-install it to achieve the same benefits by using a Flash Blocking plugin for Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Flash Blocking Plugins for Popular Broswers:

• FireFox – Flashblock
• Chrome – FlashBlock
• Safari – ClickToFlash
• Internet Explorer – Built-In (How to Black Flash in IE

These plugins allow you to toggle between Flash and no Flash in, well, a flash.

How to Disable Flash in Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Internet Explorer is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

With schools getting ready to ramp up for another semester soon, you may be looking for some good software tools to make going back to school easier. Here is our list of must have tools for school.

Dropbox

Writing papers and other projects is a key part of school. Backing those up is a must. Add synchronization to the mix and you get a great tool called Dropbox.

Sign up and install a utility on your computer or mobile device and the computer utility will create a folder called My Dropbox. Every file added to this folder is then uploaded to their cloud backup servers. Then, any other computer that has Dropbox on it will automatically download files when they are created or updated. You can also access your files from the web browser on any computer with an internet connection. Not only can you sync, but you now have no attention needed backups.

If you own an iOS device, Android device or Blackberry, you too can access Dropbox via the apps for those devices. The iPad version was our iPad App of the Week back in early June. And finally, users can share documents, pictures or other files with friends too.

Alternative service: Windows Live Sync

Google Services

Google services include Google’s Gmail, Docs, Talk, YouTube, Picasa and others.

The greatest benefit of the simple to use Gmail is the great spam filtering. Some schools may already be using Gmail for their email services even if they give their students an address like student@university.edu as Google lets anyone set up Google’s apps for their own domain. It is good to have a separate Gmail account anyway since you won’t always be a student at that school. Alternatively one could buy their own domain name and set Google Apps to work with that domain.

Along with their great Gmail service Google offers Google Docs, a simple to use online office suite that lets users create and store word processing documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms and drawings. Unless you need some advanced editing features, Google Docs may be the only office suite you need. It is online so you can access from them from any computer and most mobile devices and if you share a document with another student you can both edit the document at the same time.

Google Voice will give you one phone number to ring all your phones. Since you can get a phone number anywhere in the U.S. this might be a good way to let family call you locally even though you live far away. Choose a Google Voice number in your home town and they can dial a local number and reach you at school. You can set Google Voice to ring any number including your mobile phone, your cell phone or temporarily some other phone.

YouTube is the number one video hosting site on the net. Want to share your school experience with friends and family? Then set up your own YouTube channel. Add to video Google’s Picasa service which is a very nice photo hosting site. It does more. In addition to uploading photos for sharing, you can also do some basic editing and order prints.

Alternative service: Windows Live with mail, sync, messaging, office and more

Chrome

If you are still using Internet Explorer or Firefox, then you are missing out. Google’s Chrome browser is a faster alternative and still has many of the great extensions that make Firefox so useful. Extensions are an add-ons that give additional functionality to the browser. Some great extensions include ones that save passwords, sync bookmarks, and respond to mouse gestures. A mouse gesture is where you move the mouse in a certain way and the browser responds. Click and hold the right button and drag to the left to go back a page in browsing history or to the right to go forward.

Alternative browser: Safari

Microsoft Security Essentials

The web is a dangerous place and you need protection. There are a lot of free antivirus applications, but we like Microsoft Security Essentials because it is simple, doesn’t bog down your system and has been tested to be as good as the other free security tools.

Alternative free security: Avira Antivir Personal

Pandora

Music is a big part of our lives and Pandora will put most of the top music at your fingertips for free. This music streaming service lets you create your own radio station” by searching for your favorite artists and they will stream some songs in the free version. The paid version give you a desktop application and lets you skip more songs that you might not like. You also get no ads and unlimited listening. They also have mobile apps for the iPhone and mobile devices.

Alternative music service: Grooveshark

Steam

If you love games then you need Steam. This is a service that sells games for download legally. You buy it once and you can download it and play it on your PC or Mac. The Mac version is somewhat limited, but the PC version has an incredible amount of games. What is nice is there are no discs to keep track of and you can download the games again if you get a new computer or have a hard drive malfunction; there are also many demos to try out and sales are a common occurrence.

Alternative game download service: Direct2Drive

Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010

We may all want to use free suites like Google Docs, but the standard is Microsoft Office and their Home and Student 2010 version is not that expensive at only $150 or $79.95 with a valid .edu email address. The newest version has some compelling things to make it worth the upgrade for those on Office 2007 or earlier versions. The Home and Student version comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. It is very likely that most students and professors will be using Office so sharing files will be easier if you do to.

Alternative free office suite: OpenOffice.org

These are just a few. If you want to get discounts on back to school software, Notebooks.com’s own Carter Sprunger posted a list of student discounts on some of these and many other programs. For an alternate list, check out NotebookReview.

Must Have Back To School Applications and Services is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.