Google's latest New Tab page includes embedded search, which can be changed via an API.

Google has begun to make its latest revision to the New Tab page in Chrome available to a small group of people, the company said in a blog post on Monday.

Google has said that it hopes that the cosmetic update, first announced last December and previously available to some people only in Chrome's Beta and Dev testing channels, will result in faster search times. The New Tab page with embedded search is available to a limited number of people on Chrome Stable for Windows and Mac, and Chromebooks.

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(Credit: Photo by Nicole Cozma/CNET)

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Google has been rolling out steady improvements to the Chrome Beta for Android app. While the update from this last week was primarily focused on adding support for gestures, a new feature popped up in the chrome://flags area (where you can enable and disable experimental features).

There's now a flag for enabling the new New Tab page (a name that definitely needs work). The most recent version of the New Tab puts a convenient Google search box for text and voice right at your fingertips each time you open a new tab. Most visited Web sites are now appearing along the bottom, which you can swipe through And as for those funky icons along the bottom that let you access synced tabbs from other devices: they now have their own buttons. 

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• How to use Android 4.0 to help you manage your data plan

As Sharon Vaknin recently pointed out, unlimited data plans are in short supply. You may have a 2GB or 4GB data limit because the next package up is either too much data, or doesn't fit in your budget. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to enjoy your smartphone to the fullest.

One of the first things you should do on a limited data plan is find ways to conserve data. But what if you've followed all the tips for saving data, and you still seem to be running out too quickly? There may be a data-hogging culprit in your mix of apps.

NetLive is an Android app th... [Read more]

John Waite's new live album, "Live All Access," was not a planned release. But after the "Missing You" singer and former Babys and Bad English frontman discovered that he and his band's performances were so enhanced by the addition of new, hard-edge guitar player, Keri Kelli (Alice Cooper, Skid Row, and Slash), he wanted to capture it. Once Waite heard their explosive onstage synergy in the recordings, however, he knew they had to be shared with the world.

In an era of auto-tune and overdubs, "Live All Access" harkens back to a purer time when nothing came between you and your favorite music. Expect eight tracks -- a mix of classics like "Change" and recent favorite "If You Ever Get Lonely -- that are guaranteed to rock your socks off.

Just you Waite: John will rock your socks off!

When Download.com caught up with Waite, he was in the process of doing a system restore on his iPod. After taking care of that, we chatted about the new album, listening to his own music, instigating debates over social media, and the app he'd miss most, if his iPhone went missing.

So you're having iPod problems? I'm beginning to clear out my iPod and reload it and, as usual, it's turning into a bit of a morning. I keep thinking that I'm going to clear out the podcasts and have a fresh start, but it always goes wrong.

Oh wait, there it goes, there it goes, my world is... [Read more]