Apple has pushed out its latest updates for both second and third generation Apple TVs. According to 9to5Mac, the updates appear to fix some bugs in a previous version and nothing more.

To upadte your Apple TV to 5.0.1 (9B206f), simply turn your device on and initiate the software update on your own if you aren’t prompted to do so.

You can also download the files straight from Apple here:

- Second Generation
- Third Generation

I’ve had mixed feelings on the latest Apple TV navigation design, which has left the home screen feeling a bit too crowded for my liking. I’m really looking forward to Apple bringing iOS-type functionality to the TV, be it via the current set-top box or its own standalone television.

I personally enjoy being able to customize what I use and tossing aside what I don’t. On Apple TV, I never look at the NBA or MLB content, but it’s there taking up room.

We told you about Apple’s iOS update today and that it fixed some playback issues for AirPlay, but the big news here is that the company has fixed a pretty serious vulnerability that we told you about in March.

The affected devices were iPhone 4, 4S, iPad 2 and new iPad, and this is what was happening:

It was discovered by David Vieira-Kurz of MajorSecurity and the associated advisory details an error in how Safari handles the JavaScript window.open() method (which opens a new browser window). This could potentially be used to “trick users into supplying sensitive information to a malicious web site.”

The security issues that were fixed were outlined by Apple today along with its release of iOS 5.1.1:

Available for: iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation) and later, iPad, iPad 2

Impact: A maliciously crafted website may be able to spoof the address in the location bar

Description: A URL spoofing issue existed in Safari. This could be used in a malicious web site to direct the user to a spoofed site that visually appeared to be a legitimate domain. This issue is addressed through improved URL handling. This issue does not affect OS X systems.

At that time we suggested that you be careful about tapping links from sources that you weren’t familiar with. It looks like Apple has fixed the problem, but always be cautious as you surf around the interwebs. Also, don’t skip updates.

Catch the latest Apple news right now at TNW Apple.

Less than two weeks after Apple released the third iteration of its developer preview of OS X Mountain Lion, the company has pushed out an update for the operating system.

Such a quick push could signal that Mountain Lion is closer to becoming “gold” and preparing its release to consumers.

According to 9to5Mac, one of the most interesting features for consumers is the ability to pause notifications by way of a “Do Not Disturb” feature. Having used Mountain Lion for some time now, I can really appreciate this feature:

Additionally, Apple has released Apple Developer Preview 4 of Xcode 4.4, which is another telling sign that this version of the OS is close to shipping.

We’ve noted in the past that Mountain Lion is less of an “iOS-ification” of the operating system, and more of a unification for all of Apple’s products. The addition of iCloud lets you seamlessly share photos, notes, and documents between devices.

The company says that Mountain Lion “introduces great features inspired by the iPad, re-imagined for the Mac”.

When you want to share a video with a lot of people, YouTube is the top destination for most people. The service continues to draw top-notch talent to the platform as well, and continues to add more features for content creators.

One of the handiest YouTube features is the ability to add music to your video with its Audio Editing tool. The service has a library of music tracks to choose from, which you can use legally. If you decide to use your own music you risk the video being taken down for copyright violation.

Today, YouTube announced some changes to the Audio Editing tool, including an updated user interface to help you tweak the sound in your video to come out just right.

Here are a few of the updates introduced today:

- You asked for more tracks, and our library of songs now includes more than 150,000 tracks–and growing!
- You can now mix music into your video’s soundtrack at levels ranging from “soft background” to “completely replace.”
- Our “featured tracks” make it easy to find the best songs across genres for a variety of moods.
- We’ve revamped the Audio Editing user interface to make it easier to use. Here’s a look:

It seems like record labels are quite happy making deals with YouTube for its AudioSwap feature, since viewers are directed to a place where they can buy the song.

I still find that the audio for most YouTube videos suck pretty hard, which isn’t YouTube’s fault, so hopefully the service will add more robust audio editing features to cancel out unnecessary noise.

Here’s a look at the new design for Audio Editing, as well as how to swap out your crappy background sound for some better sounding tunes:

If Google is good at one thing when it comes to developers, it’s the ease and speed of adding new apps to its Chrome Web Store and Android Market. There are no reviewers checking out apps like there are over at Apple, which means that developers can get their ideas to market almost instantly.

Today, the Google Chrome team announced an update for its app configuration tool Appmator. The tool has been available to developers since 2010, but this marks its first update since launch.

Here’s how the team describes the Appmator tool:

Appmator makes it even easier to get your web apps into the Chrome Web Store. It gives you complete control over your app manifest and lets you quickly configure your app for the store.

Using the Appmator tool to properly configure your app for the Chrome Web Store turns the submission process into one that’s a minute or less for developers.

Here are some of the updates to the tool for version 2:

- A fresh new user interface (it looks really nice now)
- Addition of an icon editor (pluggable via +Web Intents)
- Added new permission for background processing
- Added WebGL and CSS3D requirements

When you visit Appmator, all you have to do is enter the URL for your app and the tool will handle the rest:

You’ll be able to change the name of your app and its properties, which will then be turned into a zip file that you have to upload directly from your Chrome Web Store dashboard:

That’s it! It’s a pretty user-friendly process and should provide developers with enough incentive to get their apps into the store and update it as they go along.

youRhere is one of our favorite apps for the Google Chrome Browser, check it out and tell us which ones you like in the comments!

With “Search Plus Your World” turning its search engine into a wonderland for its social product, Google+, the company is now taking advantage of the fact that you may in fact Google yourself too.

During an R&D ego search today, I found that Google is now asking me to complete my profile on Google+:

I was pretty surprised that the request from Google took up so much real-estate in the search results, but I suppose that the company is trying everything to get people to come back and continue to use the product. As you might remember, the company announced that Google+ has 90 million global users, with 60% active engagement. This would appear to be a tactic to increase those engagement numbers.

Along with Google adding “Ask on Google+” links to the bottom of all of its search results, it looks like every facet of its social network will begin creeping up into search, which is of course its biggest product.

The Android team is rolling out a new version of Google+ for the platform, and it includes a few features to keep it in line with its iOS counterpart.

Search is the big feature in Android’s latest version, a glaring hole in the app until now. Search has really opened up Google+, and the content discovery possibilities on the service are vastly more useful and impressive than that of Facebook and Twitter.

The new search button appears on the top of the Home screen:

Here are some other updates in this 2.2 version of Google+ for Android:

- +1 photos
- +1 comments – Just long-press on a comment!
- See if someone’s online and currently typing in Messenger conversations
- Start Messenger conversations by just entering a phone number
- Higher resolution photo uploads
- Links to posts or profiles now open inside of the app
- Several stability improvements and bug fixes

One of the features that users enjoy on the Android version of Google+ is instant upload of photos, as soon as you take them. This feature was available for videos as well, but was a bit more than buggy. That has been fixed in this release. Just remember that if you take ummm, “personal” photos and you have this feature on, they won’t be so personal anymore.

➤ Google+ for Android

There’s a good chance that if you own an iPad, Google is your search engine of choice. The company has made some huge updates to its search interface this year, and has pushed a few more helpful tweaks today.

When you perform a Google search on your iPad, you’re now shown slicker and bigger buttons to change your search preference. Images, Videos, and News are placed prominently, but a tap of the “More” button uncovers similar buttons for Maps, Shopping, Books, Places, Blogs, Flights, Discussions, Recipes, and Patents.

Swiping over the options slide through all of the selections. It’s a way better search experience than the previous display of options only being in the top black bar. On the desktop version of Google search, these options are available on the left hand side. Clearly, Google has made the design fit the iPad’s screen perfectly.

Once you drill into your choice of search, a tool button on the right hand side will let you dig even deeper. When searching for images for example, you can choose to search by size or color. These are all features that Google have offered in its search product for some time, but making them readily available on the iPad is definitely welcomed.

The design is so gorgeous and compact, I’d like to see it adopted on the desktop version. I’m not a fan of toolbars at the top or left-hand side, and would much rather have all options readily available in the context of what I’m actually searching for.

The changes are only viewable on the iPad right now, but I assume that they will be made available for other tablet devices, including those running Google’s own Android operating system.

However, with the iPad accounting for 87.6% of global tablet traffic, maybe Google isn’t in a rush.

In its latest update for its mobile app, Yelp decided to take a swing at Presidential Candidate Rick Perry.

Recently, during a debate, Rick Perry completely forgot what he was talking about and embarrassed himself very publicly. Here’s the video for reference:

In response, check out Yelp’s app update notes from today:

New in 5.4.3
There are three types of bugs that are now gone:
- Bookmarks-related bugs
- iOS5 styling & layout bugs
- And the um… uh, what’s the third one? Let’s see… Bookmarks, iOS layout, and the um… the third one we can’t recall. Oops.

Well played, Yelp.

The most notable updates that come along with this version of Google+ for Android are:

• Completely new app and new visual design
• Battery life improvements
• Navigation and performance improvements
• Significant notifications improvements
• Brand new posting UI
• Add people to a circle from circle profiles

The new design is extremely similar to that of the iOS version of Google+, providing a consistency that the service hasn’t had platform-wide since its launch.

It seems like the company has focused heavily on design the past few months, with Google Reader getting an overhaul today, as well as upcoming changes to Gmail.