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Mozilla just launched the latest update to its popular Firefox browser. This new version (3.6.4) introduces a number of stability and security fixes, but most importantly, Firefox now protects Windows and Linux users from browser crashes when the Adobe Flash, Apple QuickTime or Microsoft Silverlight plugins freeze.

Adobe Systems announced today that its Flash Player 10.1 software for mobile devices is now being released to its platform partners. The plugin-based technology, which allows for a range of interactive elements including video, games and even advertising, is already available for Google Android phones running the latest operating system revision, code-named "Froyo," but technically known as Android version 2.2. This OS now runs on Google's Nexus One and is expected to arrive on other Android phones like the Motorola Droid, Motorola Milestone, HTC Evo, HTC Incredible, HTC Desire and the Samsung Galaxy S.

Adobe has also now shipped Flash Player 10.1 for mobile to its device partners who will then prep the software for launch on Blackberry (RIM), webOS (Palm), Windows Phone 7, LiMo, MeeGo and Symbian smartphones.

The one notable exception to this list is, of course, Apple's iPhone.

Earlier this week following the announcement of the iPhone 4, Apple revised the terms of service (TOS) for advertising within applications due to the impending release of its iAd mobile ad service. Apple's new TOS only allows ad networks whose sole business is delivering mobile ads to collect data from those ads, effectively cutting out larger competitors like Google's AdMob. Today, AdMob's founder Omar Hamoui responded to Apple's revisions, which he believes will stifle innovation in the space.

When Apple's iPad hit the shelves just over two months ago, many wondered whether it would become as ubiquitous and as popular as the iPhone and iPod touch. One area many thought would benefit by the iPad was publishing, and some early stats could be a sign that the industry is indeed gaining traction. Wired Magazine and The Financial Times have both seen significant returns on their iPad-based applications, and with some help from Adobe, other publishers will soon find it easy to join in on the fun.

Since Google Chrome's release in September of 2008, Mac and Linux users have been playing catch-up with Windows users for features and stable releases. As of today, all three versions of Chrome are now officially stable as the Mac and Linux versions have shed their beta labels to become faster versions with new features. According to the official Google Chrome blog, the new universally stable release also includes a handful of new HTML5 and syncing features.

Love Linux? Love your Mac? No you don't - not like the hundreds of people out there with Apple and Tux tattoos. But even then, that's not hard core - it's not like Apple is just a Web 2.0 darling du jour.

No Flash on the iPhone? It's not a problem for advertisers, apparently. Developers tasked with creating rich media ad units for Apple's popular mobile devices have been busy porting their Flash-created ad collateral into an iPhone-friendly HTML5 format using mobile ad firm Greystripe's "iFlash" ad technology, which provides a Flash-like ad experience.

The iFlash ad format has become so popular, in fact, that Greystripe is just now announcing a 200% growth spike for these "iFlash" ads following the iAds announcement.

We were surprised to find a long missive penned by Apple's CEO Steve Jobs posted to the Web this morning. The subject? Why Apple hates Adobe Flash. Ever since the Cupertino-based company opted to reject the plugin-based technology on the iPhone and its Wi-Fi-only companion, the iPod Touch, people have questioned and debated not just the decision itself, but the reasoning behind it. Was Flash buggy? Was is a matter of it being a proprietary product? Did it use too much CPU? The answer, as explained by Jobs in rich detail, is all of the above.

Forrester Research is recommending developers continue developing rich Internet applications and take long pause before embracing HTML 5. For Forrester, HTML 5 is still many years away from becoming a standard in the market and fully functional across multiple platforms.

The analyst recommendation reflects on Google's mobile strategy, which CEO Eric Schmidt says is rooted in the company's support for HTML 5.

This topic is of real interest now as Apple has dropped support for Adobe Flash. Google is forging ahead with support for HTML 5 but is also playing all sides as Flash remains the incumbent technology for online video.

Adobe is officially giving up on Apple. Or rather, Apple gave up on Adobe and Adobe is just now admitting it. In any event, the news is that Adobe's "Packager for iPhone," the bundled tool in Flash Professional that lets Flash developers leverage their existing skills to produce iPhone apps, shall be no more. The toolkit will still ship with Creative Suite 5 as planned, but no future development or investment is planned in this area - or so says Mike Chambers, the principal product manager for developer relations for Adobe's Flash platform, in a blog post on Tuesday.