Safari update puts Twitter, Amazon, Bing in your browser

Apple's proprietary web browser, Safari, has been updated to version 5.0.1 and brings with it a slew of new extensions to customize your browsing experience.

Safari 5.0.1 also includes performance improvements, security updates, user interface adjustments and a host of HTML5 features.

In addition to turning on extensions within the browser in 5.0.1 on July 28, Apple also unveiled the Safari Extensions Gallery.

The Safari Extensions Gallery website helps users find extensions for their browser - "from toolbars that display live web feeds to sophisticated programs that filter web content."

While extensions are not new (Firefox and Chrome users have been customizing their browsing experience with them for years), Apple has managed to rope in some great developers for their extensions project.

Twitter, Microsoft, MLB.com, New York Times, eBay, and Amazon are just a few of the high-profile companies adding functionality to Safari through extensions.

"We're excited to continue working closely with Apple to bring visually compelling Bing experiences to Safari," said Jeff Henshaw, general manager of Bing User Experience.

"The Bing Extension for Safari brings Bing search intelligence to everyday browsing with Safari. When a user selects text in Safari, Bing instantly recognizes what they might need and pops up helpful, informative tips, from real time maps and driving directions to real time translations to direct web search results."

"Creating our Twitter extension in Safari couldn't have been easier," said Jason Goldman, vice president of Product at Twitter.

"By providing features like the ability to tweet about a page and view trending topics, we've created a simple way to deliver relevant, interesting content to people regardless of where they are on the web."

Those concerned about browsing privacy will be relieved to hear that each and every Safari Extension "is signed with a digital certificate from Apple to prevent tampering and to verify that updates to the extension are from the original developer."

Apple goes out of its way to let consumers know that Safari extensions are also sandboxed (meaning that they can't access information stored on your computer or communicate with websites not specified by the developer).

Currently, the most popular extensions for Chrome are AdBlock, Google Mail Checker, IE Tab, Docs PDF/PowerPoint Viewer (by Google) and Google Translate, while the most popular add-ons for Firefox are Adblock Plus, VideoDownloadHelper, Personas Plus, and NoScript.

To kit out your browser with extensions head to:
http://extensions.apple.com/
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/
https://chrome.google.com/extensions?hl=en