Previously only bookmarks could be synced across various machines, but with this latest release, users will now be able to port their preferences – including zoom defaults, themes and homepage settings – to the various computers they browse from. By associating browser settings with a Google account, users can quickly sync the settings on their various installations of Chrome.

Additionally, this newest version of Chrome now supports some fancy new HTML5 features, including geolocation APIs, and drag-and-drop functionality. Beta release testers of Chrome may have already spotted the ability to use Google Maps’ location functions, as well as drag-and-drop of attachments from within Gmail.

Chrome Benchmark Results

According to Google, today’s release of Chrome is the fastest ever, improving “by 213 percent and 305 percent in Javascript performance by the V8 and SunSpider benchmarks” since its initial beta release. Google is also working with Adobe to fully integrate Flash into the browser with new plug-in APIs, but this will not be available until the next full release of Flash Player in the near future.

Good news for users of Google’s Chrome browser on the Apple platform. Extensions and bookmarking are now fully supported (thank goodness!).

The new version means users can take advantage of more than 2,200 extensions that add features and bolster the usability of Chrome within Mac OS. Extensions can be selected and managed through the options menu.

As for bookmarks, Google explains that bookmarks can be synced between multiple computers, even between Macs, Windows and Linux machines. It also adds bookmark and cookie managers “in a way that feels completely at home on the Mac.” A new Task Manager will help power users keep better track of tabs.

For the impatient, the new version can be downloaded right away. The version number is 5.0.307. The link is here. Haven’t tried it yet? Well it seems to be catching on fast and is super fast, so you might want to give it a shot because it could just replace your current browser… it sure did for me!

Here are a couple of videos that Google through together to explain how it all works.

While some of these methods are quite simple and will do most of the job, there are also some more in-depth things that can also be done for users who swim in increasingly dangerous waters and need the extra security. So without me talking for pages about what can be done, I am going to jump right into the list and let you know what can be done to help secure your system from the dangerous waters known as the internet!

1. Turn off File Sharing
2. Install a Firewall
3. Scan for Spyware
4. Use Antivirus Software
5. OS Updates
6. Security Scanner
7. Secure Instant Messengers
8. Secure Email
9. Secure your Files
10.  Safe Passwords
- Taken from source. 

While some of these steps are more complicated than others, they are all worth looking into. Most of them are pretty easy to setup and use, and even the ones that do take a bit more knowledge to use have plenty of good websites that do a great job of explaining how to use them in amazing detail! 

So check this stuff out, and if you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to leave a comment about this and I will respond as soon as I get a chance. Also the orginial article / source for this list is listed right under the steps, which also does a good job in explaining so check it out and stay safe!

As for the Linux version, Google initially thought that a Windows clone would be acceptable, since Chrome itself is already such a fast application. However, the people working on the Linux version of Chrome made a case for using Gtk+ instead, and Google went with that option. Since Chrome is open source, it could still be possible that a Qt version will be developed independently of Google, of course.

When it comes to the Mac version, Goodger explains that the plan there has been to develop a native version all along. ”A Windows-clone would most definitely not be acceptable on MacOS X,” Goodger says, ”where the APIs for UI development are highly evolved and have many outstanding features. So that’s always been the plan there.” The Mac version is coming along nicely, and Google hopes to deliver both the Linux and Mac versions somewhere in June. Hopefully, they will also implement something like Firefox’s NoScript extension because according to some users, the security model is still lacking.

But what makes the Mi Edition software stand out is the graphical user interface which looks nothing like Ubuntu or even Ubuntu Netbook Remix. When you first boot up the Mi Edition software you’re greeted with a screen with a web search engine, a list of favorite web sites, and shortcuts to your music and photos. If you click the Start New Program button, a program launcher will open that separates your applications into Internet, Media, Utilities, Work, Play, and All tabs. The settings manager shows you everything you’d find in the typical Ubuntu settings screens, but it’s arranged in a new way that makes it easier to find what you’re looking for with fewer clicks. HP has also added a custom media player called HP MediaStyle that looks a lot like Apple’s FrontRow. MediaStyle provides you with a simple full screen interface for navigating music, videos, and photos. 

Owners of the Barracuda 7200.11 drive can contact Seagate through its support Web site. Seagate also offers support by telephone at 800-SEAGATE (732-4283). The company is offering data recovery services through its i365 data recovery subsidiary. On Friday, Seagate issued a statement saying that a firmware bug has been causing drive failures or freezes affecting not only the Barracuda 7200.11, but also several other models manufactured through December 2008. Those include the DiamondMax 22, the Barracuda ES.2 SATA and the SV35.

The Barracuda 7200.11 is the eleventh generation of Seagate’s flagship drive for desktop PCs and comes in capacities of 160GB to 1.5TB. Seagate manufactures hard disk drives in China, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Hall said he didn’t know what percentage of the 7200.11 drives are failing. “The best information we have right now is that it’s a pretty small population of our drives,” he said. “I’d say this is certainly one of the more highly publicized cases.”

Duncan Clarke, managing director atU.K. data recovery firm Retrodata, said he and his colleagues in the data recovery industry believe that failure rates on Seagate’s Barracuda 7200.11 drive are upwards of 30%. “We’ve been aware of this problem since November. I was getting 30 times the number of those drives than any other drive,” he said. Hall said Seagate isn’t seeing anywhere near a 30% failure rate and hasn’t decided whether to issue a recall on the Barracuda 7200.11 drive.” At the moment, we’re really still looking into it,” he said. “It’s an issue that’s ongoing for us at the moment.”

“This is something that crops up now and then,” Hall said. “Obviously, when you release a drive the firmware is refined over time. There are times when the firmware is at a point where there may be some issues that cause these problems that are undetected when the drive ships.” Clarke said he is disturbed that Seagate has not done enough to address the issue.

“First, they’re shipping rubbish products. Second, they’re not taking responsibility for the problem. They actually own a data recovery company that people go to to recover data from these drives, and they charge a lot of money for that,” Clarke said, referring to the period before Seagate began offering free recovery services. “I hope Seagate is taken to the cleaners over this.” Jeff Pederson, manager of operations at data recovery firm, Kroll Ontrack Inc., said his company has received 100 Barracuda 7200.11 drives, 50 in the last two weeks alone. He said that is a 90% increase over what the company would normally see with a Seagate Barracuda-model drive. ”People are getting perturbed with having to deal with the drive,” he said.

As far as Pederson can tell, the firmware issue is coming from Seagate’s Thailand manufacturing facility. “The firmware is corrupted. It doesn’t interface correctly with the drive and causes it to fail. But, it’s failing at the electronics level and not the platter level, so it’s not destroying data,” he said. Kroll Ontrack is offering a free diagnosis and close to a 50% discount for recovery services to owners of the Barracuda drive, which amounts to $850.

Hall said Seagate is still considering whether it will reimburse customers who took failed drives to i365 or other data recovery services before the larger issue came to light. He acknowledged that this isn’t the first time in recent months that a Seagate product has had firmware problems. In November, Seagate’s 2.5-in. SATA drives with firmware Version 7.01 were failing. The drives, which included model numbers ST96812AS and ST98823AS, are commonly used in laptops such as the MacBook or MacBook Pro. Complaints about the drives have not been limited to Seagate’s online support site. Users have also weighed in on other forums. The complaints involve drives running Linux, Mac OS X and Windows Vista

What we have:

- Framebuffer driver
- Serial driver
- Serial over USB driver
- Interrupts, MMU, clock, etc.

What we have in openiboot (but hasn’t been ported yet):

- Read-only support for the NAND

What we don’t have (yet!):

- Write support for the NAND
- Wireless networking
- Touchscreen
- Sound
- Accelerometer
- Baseband support

Here is a video of a short demonstration:

Here is a LINK to download the files needed! Also, here is a LINK to the readme.txt if you would like to try it for yourself! So enjoy!!

So I happened to come across a program in the past few days that made most of my tweaking easier than eating pie! This open source program is called Ubuntu Tweak. Basically what it does in a nutshell from what I have been able to get out of it is allow you to modify certain features in Ubuntu to your liking through this program’s user interface. Then it goes and actually makes the changes to the system “the hard way” so you don’t have to fool with it. Although it can’t do everything in tweaking your system, the good news is that it is a good place for newcomers to Linux like myself to get started and getting Ubuntu setup how they would like.

Features of Ubuntu Tweak:
- View of Basic System Information(Distribution, Kernel, CPU, Memory, etc.)
- GNOME Session Control
- Auto Start Program Control
- Show/Hide and Change Splash screen
- Show/Hide desktop icons or Mounted Volumes
- Show/Hide/Rename Computer, Home, Trash icon or Network icon
- Tweak Metacity Window Manager’s Style and Behavior
- Compiz Fusion settings, Screen Edge Settings, Window Effects Settings, Menu Effect Settings
- GNOME Panel Settings
- Nautilus Settings
- Advanced Power Management Settings
- System Security Settings

Ubuntu Tweak Website
Download Ubuntu Tweak!