Early Tuesday, Opera Software released Opera 10.01, the latest version of its free web browser.

The new version, a 16.3 megabyte download, offers the following fixes and changes:

Added:
– Opera Link button with dropdown menu on the status bar; access to Opera Link in the main menu moved to Tools.

Fixed:
– Issue with Opera Turbo and plug-in placeholders.

– Enabling Opera Turbo for the first time not showing the Opera Turbo information page.

– Opera not synchronizing more than 9 Speed Dials.

– Open instance of Opera not running when a laptop enters its wakeup stage.

– Issue with the Flip4Mac plug-in.

– Problem creating a new mail account.

– Drafts sometimes missing after upgrading to Opera 10.00.

– Follow/Ignore contact not working from the message header toolbar.

– Fixed an issue where certain domain names could allow execution of arbitrary code.

– Fixed an issue where scripts can run on the feed subscription page.

– Custom changes to operaprefs not appearing when upgrading from a version older than Opera 10.00.

– Issue of 100% CPU usage fixed by preventing and avoiding the filling up of message loop.

Opera 10.0 requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later to install and run.

About six weeks after dropping the 40 gigabyte Apple TV model and reducing the price on the remaining 160 gigabyte model to US$229, Apple has released version 3.0 of its Apple TV software. Per Macworld, the updated software offers a new main menu interface that provides direct access to rented and purchased movies, TV shows, music, podcasts, photos, and YouTube videos. Your content (My Movies, for example) now sits at the top of lists instead of at the bottom. Once you drill down into secondary menus, however, the interface is the same as before.

The new software also lets Apple TV users enjoy iTunes LP and iTunes Extras content for albums and movies, respectively.

The Apple TV now supports Genius Mixes as well, a new feature of iTunes 9 that also works on some iPod models.

For photos, the latest software adds support for iPhoto ‘09’s Events and Faces (but not Places) features.

Finally, Apple has stated that users can now listen to thousands of Internet radio stations and tag stations for later listening. You could in fact listen to Internet radio on the Apple TV previously, you just had to put the stations in a playlist.

The software is a free update for all Apple TV owners and can be snagged via the Apple TV’s Software Update feature.

Late Tuesday, Apple released iTunes 9.0.2, the latest version of its multimedia/jukebox application for Mac OS X. The new version, an 85.8 megabyte download, offers the following fixes and changes:

– Adds support for Apple TV software version 3.0, adds an option for a dark background for Grid View, and improves support for accessibility.

iTunes 9.0.2 is available via Mac OS X’s Software Update feature and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later to install and run.

Apple employees havee reportedly taking numerous trips to manufacturing plants in China, including some scheduled during the upcoming holiday season, as the company’s long-rumored tablet comes closer to reality. Citing an anonymous source, the Business Insider has stated that Apple engineers have been taking numerous trips between the U.S. and Asia recently to visit manufacturing plants where the 10″ touchscreen device will go into production. That manufacturer is likely to be Foxconn, the Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer who has partnered with Apple on numerous products, and earlier this month was rumored to have secured the production of the still-unannounced tablet.

“A source tells us a system integration engineer friend of his at Apple has been ramping up his travels back and forth between China lately, broadcasting word of his travels over the Internet,” the report said. “There’s even a few weeks scheduled during the Christmas holiday season.”

Christmas trips would confirm what sources have stated is Apple’s racing towards a launch in the first quarter of 2010 for its 3G-enabled multi-touch device.

Other reports have suggested the initial run in early 2010 would include the production of 300,000 to 400,000 units for sale.

Additional rumors of late have said that Apple has been courting publishers of newspapers and magazines to provide their content on the tablet. The belief is the device would serve as an e-reader, as well as a media player and mobile Web browser.

Recently, Apple shipped yet another beta of its upcoming Mac OS X 10.6.2 operating system update to developers, the update altering nearly 150 components. Per AppleInsider, the latest beta, labeled Mac OS X 10.6.2 build 10C535, arrives one week after the Mac maker issued build 10C531 to address issues with Snow Leopard’s Dock, ColorSync, QuartzCore and graphic driver components.

This week, Apple has asked developers to continue to provide feedback on graphics drivers while also tasking them with focusing their evaluation efforts on TrackPad preferences and the ability to create virtual machines, sources close to the story say.

As was the case with last week’s beta, documentation accompanying build 10C535 reportedly lists no known issues. While Apple has temporarily ceased its practice of providing a running list of bug fixes that will come baked into the impending release, it did identify 148 components that have seen tweaks.

Among those components are AppleBacklight, Battery Menu, Dictionary, Expose, FileSync, Family Controls, Fonts, Front Row, HFS, Inkwell, iPhoto, MobileMe, OpenCL, Parental Controls, QuickTime, Screen Sharing, Spell Checker, Spotlight, Time Machine, and USB.

In bare bones Delta form, Mac OS X 10.6.2 currently weighs in at a roughly 480 megabyte download. The update is expected for release sometime in November.

The good news: The TomTom Car Kit is finally available for the iPhone.

The bad news: Contradicting previous rumors, TomTom has stated that their recently launched TomTom GPS Car Kit will not add GPS capability to Apple’s touchscreen handhelds that do not have GPS chips of their own, namely the first generation iPhone and all current and past models of iPod touch. Per AppleInsider, the Car Kit features GPS unit built in that it uses for navigation with the iPhone 3GS to enhance functionality, leading some to believe that it could be made to work with non-GPS devices.

A notice on TomTom’s web site states:
“Note: The TomTom app for iPhone is not included with this TomTom Car Kit. The Car Kit dock is compatible with all iPhone models, but the Car Kit app only works with iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.”

The TomTom GPS app can be found in the App Store for US$99.99.

When asked if the application could be updated to run on the first generation iPhone and iPod touches, devices with no GPS receivers of their own, a company spokesperson said they have not made any “public announcements”.

The Car Kit is available on the Apple Store web site for US$119.95.

Should Apple end its exclusive carrier agreement with AT&T next year, it will likely mark the end of its estimated US$450 carrier subsidy for the iPhone, a new analysis has forecast.

Per AppleInsider, analyst Brian Marshall with Broadpoint.AmTech said that the “sweetheart” carrier subsidy provided by AT&T for the iPhone would not be attainable with Verizon. According to Marshall’s note to investors, the analyst believes that the iPhone will be added to the Verizon network in the second half of 2010, but not without consequences.

A non-exclusive iPhone, Marshall forecast, would command roughly a US$300 carrier subsidy. But he believes that any losses would be made up in volume, as Verizon is predicted to sell roughly 14 million iPhones in the 2011 calendar year. With an average selling price of around US$500, which would account for another US$7 billion in revenue for Apple.

“While AAPL started off with exclusive arrangements in 2007 with the original iPhone launch, the company has since migrated towards multiple carriers per region,” the note said. “In our view, diverse carrier support is a key element to driving global penetration of the iPhone (from ~3% share today of the total handset market). Therefore, we believe the chances are high the iPhone will find its way onto the VZ network in 2H10.”

Marshall’s assumption of 14 million Verizon iPhones is based on the performance Apple has had on AT&T’s network. Within six quarters of the iPhone’s launch, the handset has become 4% of AT&T’s postpaid subscriber base.

In the September quarter, the iPhone was said to represent more than 90% of AT&T’s total postpaid additions — an increase from 57% from a year earlier, and 33% in September 2007. It is based on the strength of the iPhone that AT&T has posted subscriber gains on market leader Verizon, adding 2 million customers last quarter to Verizon’s 1.2 million.

AT&T activated a record 3.2 million iPhones last quarter, of which nearly 40% were customers new to the wireless carrier. But CEO Ralph de la Vega also predicted that the iPhone will not remain exclusive to AT&T forever, though he believes his company’s portfolio will remain strong after the device jumps to other carriers.

Early Thursday, Mozilla.org released version 3.5.4 of its Firefox web browser.
The new version, a 17.7 megabyte download, sports the following fixes and changes:
– Fixed several security issues.
– Fixed several stability issues.
– Added the ability to re-submit crash reports (bug 378528).
– After using Clear Recent History some SSL sites would not load all images and styles without pressing reload (see bug 480619).

Firefox 3.5.4 is available in more than 70 different languages and requires a G3, G4, G5 or Intel-based Mac, Mac OS X 10.4 or later and 128MB of RAM to install and run.

If you’ve snagged the new version and have any feedback to offer about it, let us know in the comments.

On Tuesday, virtualization softare maker VMWare released version 3.0 of its Fusion software for the Mac.

Similar to other virtualization software packages, VMWare allows users to run alternate operating systems such as Windows and Linux distributions on Intel-based Macs at native speeds. Other features, such as Unity, allow users to run and minimize Windows applications from the Mac OS X Dock.

The new version, which can be found here, offers the following new features and fixes:

– Support for 4-way SMP to maximize performance on the latest iMac and Mac Pro. Lower overhead and up to 2X faster resume time for a suspended virtual machine.

– More Mac-Like Than Ever. Banish the start menu and launch Windows apps from the new “always-on” applications menu, even when VMware Fusion isn’t running.

– Optimized for Snow Leopard. Built from the ground up for the Mac, VMware Fusion 3 leverages Mac OS X Snow Leopard’s advanced architecture with a new 64-bit core engine and native support for the 64-bit kernel.

– VMware Fusion 3 will be the first to enable the full Windows 7 experience, side-by-side with your Mac, complete with Windows Aero and Flip 3D.

– Support for OpenGL 2.1 and DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3 will enable users to run their favorite 3D Windows games and applications.

The software requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later to install and run and retails for US$79.99.

Amidst Apple’s release of new hardware last week, the company apparently also quietly dropped the prices of additional RAM and processor upgrades on its MacBook Pro line. Per AppleInsider, Apple’s Australian online store, as of Monday, had cut prices on MacBook Pros by up to $700 AUD. The 17″ model, which previously sold for $3,999 AUD is now $3,299 AUD.

Take a look around and if you see any other price reductions, please let us know in the comments.