OS X app updates to support the MacBook Pro with Retina display
Apple updated OS X and its suite of core apps to take advantage of the MacBook Pro with Retina display's 2880 x 1800 resolution, but the surprise announcement at WWDC 2012 left many third-party apps out in the cold. Major programs like Adobe's Creative Suite and others like Twitter don't display text or images that support the high-resolution screen, and that's not to mention the fact browsers like Firefox and Opera don't render text properly, either. We're expecting updates to roll in throughout the year, so keep checking back here to catch them as they come in.
OS X launcher app Quicksilver reaches version 1.0.0 after ten-year beta
OS X launcher utility Quicksilver has finally graduated from beta status, almost ten full years since it first made its debut. Version 1.0.0 of the application was released for Mac OS X 10.6, 10.7, and 10.8 today for free. While the past ten years has seen development move on from Nicholas Jitkoff (who's since been hired by Google) and the program has been open sourced, the launcher app still retains its proponents.
The new version includes preliminary Retina display support, a new Add to...
Adobe Lightroom 4.3 adds support for Retina display Macbooks, new iPhone lens profiles
If you're a Lightroom user who has a MacBook Pro with Retina display, you won't have to suffer with low-res graphics any longer. Adobe's photo management and correction app has been updated to version 4.3, which contains support for high-DPI screens like those found in Apple's newest MacBook Pro laptops. There's also new support for a number of high-end cameras that have been released in recent months, including new, more affordable full-frame cameras like the Nikon D600 and the Canon 6D.
At...
Adobe adds Retina display support to Photoshop and Illustrator, more apps to follow
When Phil Schiller unveiled Apple's latest MacBook Pro and its Retina display back in June, he also revealed that Adobe had committed to optimizing Photoshop for the ultra high-res panel. The company today reaffirmed that plan, saying updates to "key products" will be delivered to all customers running the latest release in the coming months. Thankfully those products extend beyond Photoshop, with Adobe naming nine total applications (including Lightroom 4) that will be updated with support...
Parallels Desktop 8 released with full Windows 8 integration, true Retina display support, and more as a $49.99 upgrade
With a new version of Windows comes a new version of the popular Parallels virtualization software for OS X, and starting today there's a new version — Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac — that revamps the program with complete Windows 8 integration and other improvements, including that elusive Retina display support.
The major change in Parallels Desktop 8 is right in the name: the software handles Windows 8 completely differently than the previous version of the virtualization program. In...
Despite earlier announcement, Parallels support for Retina display Macs still a work in progress
Last month, Parallels announced that its popular virtualization software Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac was updated to support the Retina display on the new MacBook Pro, but all wasn't nearly as it seemed. Inadvertently or not, Parallels had incorrectly led its customers (and the media) to believing that Windows, Ubuntu, and any other OS you could throw at the program would be able to use the 2880 x 1880 display on Apple's latest machine.
Retina support? Not so much
What owners of the...
Pixelmator 2.1 adds iCloud and Retina graphics: as close as you'll get to Photoshop for $14.99
Over the last few years, Pixelmator has emerged as a strong and highly affordable alternative to Adobe Photoshop for Mac users — and the latest update to version 2.1 brings a host of new features, including new effects, alignment guides, and support for Apple's latest software. The image-editing software is now fully compatible with both Mountain Lion and iCloud, so users can now save their creations directly to iCloud and have them sync across multiple Mountain Lion computers. Other...
Things 2.0 takes Cloud syncing out of protracted beta, showers you with new features
Things, one of the leading task manager apps on Apple's OS X, has seen a long-awaited update to version 2.0 today. It brings to a close some five months of public beta testing of a new Cloud syncing feature — which distributes your to-do list across the full range of Apple devices, courtesy of updated iPhone and iPad apps as well. Also on the new features list are Retina display support for the new MacBook Pro, an entirely re-engineered core for "blazing fast Things Cloud performance,"...
Microsoft
Google Chrome now optimized for Retina display, gains built-in webcam support, too
Google's latest stable release of Chrome is out now, and it brings a handful of features with it from previous beta builds. First up is exciting news for MacBook Pro with Retina display owners: Chrome has been updated to support the high-resolution screen, making it the first primary browser outside of Safari to take advantage of the display. The feature was previously limited to the Canary build of the browser.
Chrome 21 also includes built-in webcam and microphone support. By using the...
Apple
LaunchBar update adds Mountain Lion compatibility, Retina display graphics
Objective Development has updated its popular LaunchBar app, improving compatibility with Apple's new OS, Mountain Lion, and adding "preliminary" support for the MacBook Pro with Retina display. The update, version 5.3, also offers extended support for third-party mail clients such as Sparrow, Outlook, and PostBox, and is Gatekeeper-ready.
LaunchBar replaces and extends OS X's Spotlight search function, in a similar fashion to apps like Alfred and Quicksilver. It offers powerful, adaptive...
Apple
Apple updates iWork and iPhoto for Mountain Lion, fixes bugs in iMovie
Mac owners will be busy with updates this morning as Apple releases software that works better with the newly-released Mountain Lion. The latest version of iWork now supports Mountain Lion and the new MacBook Pro Retina display. Mountain Lion features like iCloud document storage and dictation also show up in the release notes. iPhoto has been given a similar update, with added compatibility and support for sharing through Messages and Twitter. The latest version of iMovie already supported...
Apple
Mac calendaring app Fantastical adds Retina support
An update to one of our favorite OS X apps, Fantastical, is the latest to add support for Apple’s new Retina display Macs. High resolution support isn’t all, there are a few other important improvements to the calendaring app as well: repeating reminders are now simpler to enter, and tapping the space bar can now toggle the completed state for reminders. Developer Flexibits is getting the update (version 1.3.2) out just ahead of today’s Mountain Lion release, which is good since it's...
Apple
Evernote for Mac updated with Retina display support and Activity Stream
The Mac version of note-taking app Evernote has been updated, adding the Activity Stream feature and a visual upgrade to support the MacBook Pro with Retina display. Just like in the Windows version, the new Activity Stream section lets you view the most recent changes for shared notebooks — you can see things like if someone new has joined the notebook, or what notes have been added or deleted. Meanwhile, the team says that "every button, texture, shadow, and image" has been upgraded to...
1Password for Mac updated with Retina display support
The popular password management app 1Password has been updated to support Retina displays on the Mac. In addition to the Retina display support, the app now works better with Chrome. AgileBits tells us that it needed to update 130 images for the new version — so if you're keeping track of just how much bigger Retina-compatible apps are, plan on counting 3.5 million more pixels once you download the latest version. The update is free for current users, though the app itself is a hefty $49.95...
Parallels Desktop 7 for OS X upgraded to support the MacBook Pro with Retina display
If you're a MacBook Pro with Retina display owner and run Windows through the Parallels virtualization program, we have some good news — Parallels Desktop 7 now supports the higher resolution of Apple's new flagship laptop. We're not surprised to see this update come through, as the company updated its Parallels Mobile for iOS software to support the new iPad's Retina display back in May.That's the only major change, but it will certainly be welcome news to those using the newest MacBook...
Apple
Pulp news reader app updated to support MacBook Pro with Retina display
Acrylic Software has updated its Pulp desktop app to support the MacBook Pro with Retina display. Available for both the iPad and Mac, Pulp is a news reader app that aggregates stories from RSS feeds and displays them in a magazine-like layout. Announced today via Twitter, version 2.5.2 not only optimizes the app for retina displays, but renders it compatible with Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, as well. The update is available now from the Mac App Store, where Pulp is currently selling for...
Apps & Software
Reeder updated to support MacBook Pro's Retina display
Reeder, a popular RSS app that syncs to Google Reader, has been updated to support the MacBook Pro with Retina display. Aside from the improved graphics, there were no other changes with version 1.1.7 except for a fix to the app's tweet feature, which previously gave the incorrect character count when sharing links. Available now for $4.99 through iTunes, Reeder joins Chrome, VLC, and Sparrow as prominent third-party apps that make use of the new MacBook Pro's high-definition display.
Apple
Sparrow updated to support Retina display and Mountain Lion
Update: Sparrow for Mac 1.6.2 is now live in the Mac App Store, ten days after its debut for users who purchased the app from the Sparrow store.
Another app has been updated to support the MacBook Pro with Retina display — this time it's Sparrow, the popular (and Gmail-friendly) desktop email app. The new version (1.6.2) has just been pushed out, and for users of Apple's high-resolution laptop the difference is stark: the sidebar and message previews are now both Retina-compatible, as are...
Apple
VLC 2.0.2 adds Retina display support, kills font cache, and more
VLC 2.0.2 has just been released for Windows and OS X, and while the update further tweaks video playback on both platforms, the major changes come to the version for Apple's desktop OS. For those who took the plunge and upgraded to the MacBook Pro with Retina display, you'll notice that the update introduces support for the high-resolution screen. This extends not only to icons and menus, but also to the video content itself, as can be seen below (2.0.1 on the left, 2.0.2 on the right...
Apple
Chrome update for MacBook Pro's Retina display coming soon, developer version available now
One of the (few) disadvantages to the new MacBook Pro's stunning Retina display is that apps need to be updated to take advantage of it, otherwise they can look fuzzy, out of focus, and generally bad. Fortunately, Google has been quick to update Chrome, already releasing a refresh in the "Canary" developer channel that has some early Retina-compatible work in it. Google says it still has more work to do in the coming weeks before rolling it into a final shipping release, but it's a start —...
Apple
Apple updates iMovie to support new MacBook Pro with Retina display
Now that Apple has launched its MacBook Pro with Retina display, a number of apps are being updated to support the new machine. The latest is iMovie, which has been bumped up to version 9.0.6 in order to take advantage of the new Retina screens. There's not much else to the update, though — the only other addition is support for a host of new languages, including Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovak, Thai, Turkish, and Ukrainian. You can grab the updated version from...
Photography & Video
Aperture updated with Retina optimization and more, now shares library with iPhoto
Apple's done with today's WWDC announcements, but we're still going through the raft of updates that have just officially come through. The company has announced an update to Aperture that optimizes it for the just-announced MacBook Pro with Retina display. Besides this, it also incorporates a shared photo library for Aperture and iPhoto and automatically ports updates between them, so you can make an album or edit an image in Aperture and see the changes in iPhoto or vice versa. Some new...
OS X, pro apps, and games updated for new MacBook Pro Retina Display
Apple just announced that OS X 10.7 Lion and 10.8 Mountain Lion will be updated to support the new 2880 x 1800 Retina Display in the next-generation MacBook Pro, which ships today. The entire OS has been tweaked to support the higher resolution, as have most of Apple's apps, including Mail, Safari, Aperture, and Final Cut Pro.
Apple's also touting a number of key third-party apps that have been updated for the new display, like Adobe Photoshop and AutoCAD. There's also a new version of Diablo...
