I just fired up new vegas for the first time today and it instructed me to download the newest software update...what does this update cover I don't see anything on ign or nma about it?

The patch was announced on this forum at 5:55PM, not sure when it was actually live. It's the same patch that was first released for the PC version on October 21st.

I'm going to take a wild guess, and say that it covers the same thing that the first patch did for Fallout 3. No more being able to purchase fully repaired items from vendors who stock two (or more) of an item. Probably a few minor fixes too, but ... do tell if you notice something, ok?

I've not connected to the internet for precisely this reason - sometimes their patches do more damage than good.

First thing I did was go to forlorn and guess what? I STILL CAN'T ENGAGE IN DIALOGUE WITH BETSY TO DO THE I DONT URT ANYMORE QUEST!?!?!? FIX THIS PLEASE!