Following closely after the release of Safari 5.1.4, Apple today released version 5.1.5 of its Web browser to address difficulties a number of users have had opening the program in 32-bit mode.

Apple's latest hardware and software support has been for 64-bit code, but in order to support older plug-ins and for other compatibility reasons Apple includes a 32-bit binary for its Safari Web browser. To load the software in 32-bit mode, you just need to get information on the application in the Finder and check the "Open in 32-bit" box.

Related stories

• Safari bug could lure iOS 5 users to malicious Web sites
• Troubleshooting Safari update problems
• Safari 5.1.4 update addresses PDF errors among other bugs

Apparently a significant number of Web sites would not run properly when people ran the 32-bit version of Safari, and this update addresses this problem. In addition, the update includes a couple of stability fixes for people running OS X 10.6.8 and Windows.

It should be available via Software Update, but ... [Read more]

Last Wednesday Adobe announced the availability of the public beta for the Photoshop component of its upcoming Creative Suite 6 image manipulation and design software, which users can try before the suite is officially released later this year.

While past versions of Adobe's products have offered a decent spectrum of support for existing operating system and computing environments, new features and development directions in the program suite have had Adobe making some adjustments to the platforms that will support the new software.

Adobe Photoshop CS6 puts a major effort toward performance enhancements, primarily with the implementation of the new Adobe Mercury Graphics Engine, but in addition offering optimized and new 3D handling, quantitative analysis, and video manipulation options to the program suite.

To make the most of these features, Adobe built them using 64-bit code optimized for multicore systems, which therefore means the suite will run best on a fully 64-bit native Intel and AMD systems (all of which are multicore); however, Ad... [Read more]

Ustream for Android has officially been downloaded more than 2.5 million times, and to celebrate the major milestone, its developers have today released an updated version of the app with both new looks and new features. Most noticeably, version 2.0 brings with it a significantly improved interface sporting a darker theme that looks quite a bit sleeker than before. Also, it now supports device rotation to landscape mode, swiping navigation, and enhanced actionbar functionality. Korean language support is another addition, which makes sense in light of Ustream's partnership with Korea Telecom announced late last year.

The biggest news with 2.0, though, has to be the new ad-free experience via premium membership. By purchasing a premium membership -- either in-app using Google Wallet or on the Ustream Web site -- you can kill the banners whether you're watching video on your Android device, iOS, or on Ustream.tv.

Version 2.0's new Quick Broadcast widget

Finally, version 2.0 adds a nifty Quick Broadcast widget, which places a tiny record button on your Android Home screen. With the new widget, you can now start a live broadcast instantly with a single tap. Before your first bro... [Read more]

Sprint's reign as the only carrier to integrate Google Voice into its cell phone service could be coming to an end.

"We are having discussions with other carriers about this," Vincent Paquet, Group Product Manager for Google Voice, told CNET in an interview. He declined to name specific carriers.

Google's Paquet added that the existing partnership, which lets Sprint customers easily turn their handset number into a Google Voice number, has been successful.

Google Voice gives users access to visual voicemail that you can read on the phone or online, personalized greetings, and cheaper international calls, among other perks.

Although anyone can port their phone number to a Google Voice account, Sprint's offering doesn't include the $20 porting charge, is simpler to set up online, and let you unlink the Sprint phone if you already have an account.

Related stories

• Sprint: Google Voice deal 'extremely important'
• Google Voice and Sprint integration: Hands-on review
• Google Voice, Sprint integration from the horse's mouth (Q&A)
• ... [Read more]

Square's Pay With Square app.

Square has delivered a few improvements (and a new name) to its mobile payment service.

The application formerly known as Card Case has been rebranded "Pay With Square," the company announced today. Square hasn't said why it changed its mobile app's name, but the branding appears to make it clearer to users what they should do with the app. Card Case was, after all, a cryptic name for a mobile-payment solution.

Pay With Square comes with the same features users found in Card Case, allowing them to pay for products at merchant stores that support Square without ever needing to take their credit cards out. To improve the experience a bit, the company has made it easier for users to find Square-approved merchants by pulling them from the old version's virtual wallet and placing them in plain view. In addition, users can now find merchants by scrolling through a map or searching from the program.

Square has also added a host of social features, including allowing users to add businesses to their favorites list and then share those with friends.

Related stories

• Mobile-payment startup unveils Square 2.2
• ... [Read more]

Apple CEO Tim Cook has made it abundantly clear how important China is to his company's future. And he might soon prove that point yet again with Baidu integration in iOS.

Chinese news site Sina Tech is reporting today, citing sources, that Apple plans to integrate Baidu search into iOS in April. The move could be a blow to Google, which is currently the default search engine on Chinese iPhones, and trying desperately to catch up to Baidu.

Related stories

• Dell, Baidu team up for tablets, phones for China
• Baidu launches browser with Chrome-like design
• Facebook, Baidu ink deal to create new Web site?
• CNET's review of Apple's iPhone 4S
• CNET's review of Apple's new iPad

Catching up might be a tall order. Baidu is dominant in the Chinese market and integrated into the vast majority of services that need search. Chinese research group Analysys International last month reported that ... [Read more]

AVG Do-Not-Track gives you significantly more control over how Web sites track your online meanderings.

Two new features designed to protect your privacy while you browse the Web and guard you against misleading SSIDs come to all three AVG suites in a service pack update.

The Service Pack 1 update for AVG Anti-Virus Free 2012, AVG Anti-Virus 2012, and AVG Internet Security 2012 are available exclusively today from Download.com.

Both of the new features are available to free and paid users, but the tracking ad blocker called AVG Do-Not-Track is the big one. It works similarly to Do Not Track Plus. While the toolbar is an optional browser add-on, AVG Do-Not-Track appears to be an automatic browser add-on install that can only be removed after the fact.

AVG evangelist Tony Anscombe said in a telephone interview that AVG created its more robust anti-tracking feature to "put control back in the hands of the user."

"The user won't see ads out of context to the page their on. There are obviousl... [Read more]

Apparently Microsoft isn't content leaving one potentially important speed boost for the Web to Google.

The company last night announced a plan to improve HTTP -- the Hypertext Transfer Protocol that browsers use to request Web pages and servers use to deliver them -- with a technology it calls HTTP Speed+Mobility. Google has proposed an idea called SPDY for speeding up HTTP and won an important ally at IETF, the group that oversees the standard and that's beginning work on a new HTTP 2.0.

But Microsoft wants a piece of the action, too. It thinks SPDY is OK but wants to augment it with the new WebSocket high-speed communications link between browsers and Web servers. WebSocket has begun arriving in browsers after a hiccup last year.

And Microsoft wants to extend the work so mobile apps, can take advantage of the performance improvement, too. "We think that apps -- not just browsers -- should get faster too. More and more, apps are how people access Web services, in addition to their browser," said Sandeep Singhal, program manager of Microsoft's Windows Core Networking group, and Jean Paoli, general manager of Microsoft's Interoperability Strategy, put it in a ... [Read more]