Firefox/Chrome/Safari: Netflix's new interface may not be the most fun to navigate, but you can ease a bit of the pain with a user script that adds Gmail-like keyboard shortcuts to the entire thing.

One of the advantages Google loves to tout about its Chrome Operating System is its ability to upgrade the platform from the Googleplex.

Chrome OS is a cloud OS, of course, so users don't have to install any upgrades themselves. They can simply wait for Google to provision new versions to their Chromebooks when the company is ready to launch them.

And so it goes with the new Chrome OS version 13.0.782.108, which Google launched August 10. Speed freaks will appreciate that their Chromebooks will resume as much as a third faster.

As Louis Gray noted, the new build supports the Netflix Chrome application, which users of the Samsung Series 5 and Acer AC700 Chromebooks, (as well as the Cr-48 test build) may grab free from the Chrome Web Store here. I installed it and it worked fine:

Readers may also download the new Kindle Cloud Reader application from Amazon, or even print via the Print to Docs feature with Google Cloud Print.

Google said it has a little something for businesses and schools running Citrix desktop virtualization software.

That would be the Citrix Receiver Tech Preview, which will let users access Adobe Photoshop and other traditionally on-premise desktop application directly from their Chromebooks.

The Chrome OS team also fixed bugs and posted the following improvements to version 13:

• Chrome 13 browser support
• Allow auto-connect using 3G
• Remove/forget added VPN connections
• L2TP IPSec with pre-shared key support
• More SSH options in crosh
• 802.1x support
• Allow USB mounting of Android

I refreshed my Cr-48 with the build last night. It took about 20 minutes to upgrade. Well worth it for all of the above, in my opinion.

Watching movies and TV shows on an iPad is a pleasure. Deciding what to watch, and then figuring out which iPad app offers which film or show at that moment, isn’t.

Television programs, like music and books, are migrating from their traditional form of delivery to transmission over the Internet for consumption on computers, tablets and smartphones. A growing number of people, at least some of the time, are choosing to watch shows on these devices rather than on television sets.

Remember when everyone was freaking out over the Apple in-app subscription changes? You should. It was just a month ago. And while some of the fears that arose do appear to be very real, the two things most people focused on were Amazon’s Kindle app and the Netflix app. Well guess what? Both received updates today, and neither includes the supposedly mandatory changes.

CueThat is a slick little browser add-on that lets you add any movie you happen upon while browsing the Web to your Netflix queue. Just highlight a title, right click and choose CueThat from your context menu, and voila: it's added to your list. It even works with movies that are still only screening in theaters.

CueThat is offered as an extension for both Firefox and Chrome, though the bookmarklet works just as well and is usable in any Web browser. It's well worth adding to your bookmark toolbar if you're a Netflix user who hunts for movie reviews or recommendations while browsing the Web.

While tech pundits don't seem ready to give Google TV the thumbs up, yesterday's update certainly makes Google's home entertainment platform a bit more compelling. For starters, there's built-in Netflix support and a better movie search function -- which makes it easy to find your favorite Terry Gilliam flicks (if you're in the US, anyhow) and watch them on Netflix or Amazon Video on Demand.

Google has also turned your Android smartphone into a device which can play both Angry Birds and take full control of your Google TV box. The demo video is after the break, as is the QR Code to help you grab Google TV Remote from the Android Market.

Multitasking fanatics will appreciate the improved Dual View feature, which now allows users to drag and resize the video window which floats atop the Chrome browser. This makes it much easier to actually do things in the browser while you watch -- since the non-movable window could easily get in the way of form elements and links.

Look back into Apple’s history, and it’s clear that it never partners with a company that could one day be a threat. Mistakes do happen occasionally, and Apple’s pairing with Google did prove to be a bad idea once Google “decided to enter the mobile phone market,” as Steve Jobs put it. Apple’s decision to include Netflix on the newest Apple TV is very telling when trying to anticipate where Apple is going with video and the iTunes store.

Since the iTunes Music Store was announced in 2003 with only 100,000 tracks available for purchase, press and bloggers have been asking, “when will Apple release a subscription model?” Each time a new music service pops up from Microsoft, RealNetworks and Sony, the question is asked again. Jobs repeatedly insists people want to own content, and a subscription plan doesn’t allow for that. The thing is, when he makes a claim like that, it suggests Apple has considered the idea and decided it will never go that route.