PixelmatorThe team behind Pixelmator has posted a lengthy apology on their blog following the discovery of a bug that would sometimes cause Macs to restart or the app to crash when intensively using the popular image editor.

It turns out, the newest Nvidia Geforce graphics card drivers in OS X 10.8.2 are causing the issue, and Pixelmator is working with Apple to resolve the issue.

Everything we do at Pixelmator Team is aimed at making your favorite app the best in the world. With every minor update, we strive to live up to a high-quality standard. We even put aside new features, such as layer styles, for the sake of quality improvements. So far, we are happy with what we’ve achieved. However, there is one issue we wanted to talk about a little bit more.
A month or so ago, after the most recent OS X update (10.8.2), we’ve bumped into a problem that causes certain Macs to restart when intensively using Pixelmator. Sometimes, the app would stop responding without restarting a computer, or just cause some graphical glitches.

We did everything to find the root cause of the problem. We’ve researched a vast amount of information about OS X internals. We’ve torn down our Macs. We even reached out to Apple. Finally, the picture was clear: It’s an issue with Nvidia Geforce graphics card drivers.

Although the issue isn’t with Pixelmator, we didn’t give up. We’ve searched for various workarounds, and then, we checked with you to see if any of them helped (thanks so much for being so patient and for taking the time to test those workarounds). But in the end, nothing worked.

Good thing, though—the guys at Apple are very helpful, and as soon as we hear about a solution, we’ll let you know about it that very moment.

The affected Macs have GT 120, GT 320M, GT 330M, 9400M, and GT 9600 Nvidia graphics cards.

Top Rated Comments

JoeRito Avatar
162 months ago
Pixelmator rocks... just started using it after switching through 7 other photo editors over the last 4 years. I appreciate a company that shares info like this and will be a proponent even more now. Best software on the planet and I got mine on th App store for only 14.99!!!!!!!!!! worth 5-6 times that easy.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SeattleMoose Avatar
162 months ago
I Love Pixelmator

Pixelmator is probably my most used application besides web and mail. Love to mess with photos and improve them.

The PM team is VERY responsive and forthcoming with information. That just binds me even closer to the product. Honesty and acknowledgement of "oops" increase customer base confidence.

Secrecy and silence have the opposite effect...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
geeksweep Avatar
162 months ago
Nvidias on Apples hotseat list

A few years back Nvidia shipped faulty graphics cards that would cause the whole system to overheat over time and cause other problems. Apple banned them for a while on their systems and it looks like Nvidia is back at it again. They better straighten up or they will lose a HUGE customer(apple).
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T'hain Esh Kelch Avatar
162 months ago
I would like to love Pixelmator, but I just can't use that horribly black user interface. How they came up with that, and thought it was great is beyond me. Absolutely unuseable.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
goodcow Avatar
162 months ago
A few years back Nvidia shipped faulty graphics cards that would cause the whole system to overheat over time and cause other problems. Apple banned them for a while on their systems and it looks like Nvidia is back at it again. They better straighten up or they will lose a HUGE customer(apple).

Who writes Nvidia's Apple drivers, Nvidia or Apple themselves? Regardless, isn't it Apple's responsibility to properly test graphics drivers, especially given the mere handful of them officially supported on their hardware?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TennisandMusic Avatar
162 months ago
Pixelmator is such a steaming pile. I tried to use it as as advertised, the hipper, faster Photoshop replacement.

Not only is it not even close to Photoshop, it just doesn't work properly on so many basic tasks that it's silly. On top of that, the guys that run it have completed aped Apple's marketing style (over the top secrecy and silence).

I don't understand why people use it. It is incredibly poor. I really think it appeals to people who think they are clever for not wanting to use Adobe, but PS CS6 stomps all over Pixelmator. It's just an embarrassing thing at this point.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
iphone 17 dummies sonny dickson

iPhone 17 Air Almost as Thin as Its Buttons, New Images Show

Thursday April 24, 2025 2:14 am PDT by
If you missed the video showing dummy models of Apple's all-new super thin iPhone 17 Air that's expected later this year, Sonny Dickson this morning shared some further images of the device in close alignment with the other dummy models in the iPhone 17 lineup, indicating just how thin it is likely to be in comparison. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be around 5.5mm thick – with a thicker ...
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...